Transform
by htbthomas
Summary: When Adrien runs away from home, only Ladybug can help him. They both find out more than they bargain for. (Reveal fic, Adrienette and Ladrien, with some LadyNoir. Basically most of the love square!) - Complete!
1. Runaway

**Note: Written between Seasons 1 and 2.**

 **Thank you to Spacecadet72 for brainstorming and squeeing and jdphoenix for betaing and even more squeeing. :D**

* * *

Chat Noir stretches his claws forward as he runs, pumping his legs to the very limit of his abilities. His muscles burn, even with the extra strength and stamina the suit grants him. Every vault with his staff gets him closer to her, to his Lady.

But not close enough, never close enough.

She is held aloft in the paper strands of Ticker Tape, her body still as a doll, the two of them staying just ahead of him. They are heading somewhere south through the city. Most of the citizens of Paris are focused on the Bastille Day fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, reacting with oohs and aahs to each flash of colorful light. No one notices the chase across the rooftops.

He has to reach her; he can't lose her now, not when everything is changing between them.

Where are they going? He suspects deep inside, though he isn't sure why, that he is being led to Hawk Moth's lair.

Chat growls, low in his throat. If Hawk Moth hurts Ladybug, Chat will tear everything to shreds—every brick and beam, every fluttering wing. Chat will tear the Miraculous from Hawk Moth's body, and if anything else tears away, so much the better…

They stop, Ticker Tape perched on the top of a high tower. Even with his night vision, Chat can't make out which building it is; he's not close enough. He leaps, farther than he's leapt before, just catching the words of Ticker Tape on the night wind. "Remove your Miraculous and give it to me."

"No!" he shouts, mid-flight, but her hands are moving to her ears. He focuses in, on her slender fingertips closing on the clasp on her left earlobe, just as he lands. His claws screech into the concrete of the building several meters down from where Ticker Tape has Ladybug in thrall.

And then the earring comes undone, and a flash of brilliant red magical light blends into the fireworks lighting the darkened sky.

* * *

 _One Week Ago_

Marinette slides into her seat beside Alya, placing her bag on the seat beside her. Alya looks up, her eyes going wide with surprise behind the lenses of her glasses. "Wait. Is this a mirage I see in front of me?" She waves her hands back and forth in front of Marinette, as if to dispel a vision. "It must be. There is no way that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is actually _on time_."

Marinette flushes, pink spots highlighting the tops of her cheekbones. "Alya…"

Alya makes a big show, patting Marinette on the shoulders and down her arms. "Hmm. Feels real. Maybe another akuma on the loose? A scoop for the Ladyblog!"

"Keep your voice down," Mariette says, annoyed now. "I couldn't be late on the last day."

Alya purses her lips. "Sounds fake, but okay." Then she smiles in apology and nods her head toward the empty seat beside Nino right in front of them. "If you were trying get a chance to talk to Prince Charming, looks like you're out of luck."

Marinette had noticed, of course. It isn't like Adrien to be late to class, not when she knows his driver drops him off every day at 8:15AM on the dot. She turns her head to look out into the hallway, trying to catch a glimpse of him coming up the stairs.

She sighs. Nowhere to be seen. The class is noisy, talking as they wait for their teacher to arrive, most of the conversations about what they're going to do with their summer holidays. The answer has always been the same for Marinette: work in her parents' bakery, take on a couple of design projects, maybe go on a weekend trip with her parents once or twice if they can afford to close the shop.

Not this summer.

July and August stretch ahead of her, full of possibility. Sure, she's going to do all that other stuff, but she is also going to have so much more to do. She can actively patrol with Chat Noir, doing more than reacting to Hawk Moth's akumas. They can seek him out themselves, try to hit him before he hits them.

"...what Adrien is going to do?" Alya is saying. Hearing Adrien's name breaks her out of her thoughts and she tries to focus on just what words Alya's lips are forming. Those lips quirk in a knowing smile. "You're thinking about him, aren't you? Should have known by the spacey look on your face."

Marinette flushes for the second time that morning. "N-no…" She can't tell Alya what she was thinking about, other than in the most general terms. "Just thinking about how I want to spend my summer. What do you have planned?"

Alya's expression is flat. "Girl, you really didn't hear _anything_ I just said?"

Marinette shakes her head.

Alya lets out an exasperated sigh. "Adrien better get here soon or you won't be able to focus at all. Anyway…"

Marinette listens as Alya tells her all about how she's going to revamp the Ladyblog, how she's going to hit the pavement and recruit spotters all over town. Marinette schools her face to look excited and interested, but she's really making mental notes on how to avoid Alya and her minions. She and Chat Noir are going to have to be twice as careful about their transformations.

"All right, come to order, class," Ms. Bustier calls over the hubbub in the room, and Mariette dutifully turns her attention to the teacher. "I know you all are looking forward to the long holiday—" there's a rumble of assent around the room— "but we do have one day left. For your final assignment—graded, of course—" now a rumble of complaint— "I want you to write a short essay, inspired by our Paris heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Marinette's chest grows warm with pride as Ms. Bustier turns to write on the board: _How I Would Make Paris a Better Place_.

"In other words, if you had powers like Ladybug and Chat Noir, how would you use them for good in our city?"

A few excited suggestions ring out, but Ms. Bustier holds up her hands to quiet them. "Save your enthusiasm for the essay! This is due by the end of class. Begin."

Marinette grins. This assignment should be a piece of cake—and just as delicious as the ones her dad makes. She hands it in early enough that she has time to worry as she looks at the empty seat in front of her. What happened to Adrien?

* * *

If anyone is looking for Adrien, they probably won't find him. Not in any of the usual places, anyway. Not in his room, not anywhere in his house, not at school, not in his driver's car, not with his father or his secretary, Nathalie.

And that's on purpose.

As he sits on a rooftop on the opposite side of Paris from his usual haunts, it's killing him not to be at school. Not to see his friends again, or see what the last day of school for the year was really like. Being homeschooled until this year means that he really never experienced the ups and downs of breaks and holidays and school. And he wants to be there. So badly that a supernova of desire lights his chest and radiates all the way out the tips of his fingers and toes.

But he can't. If he goes anywhere he's expected, he'll be found.

That's the last thing he wants. His father dropped a bomb last night—the two of them would be heading for Milan for the summer for a holiday full of photo shoots and shows. No amount of arguing and rational discussion would change his mind. And all the while they were talking he kept making weirdly cryptic remarks about how unsafe the city is these days.

As if. It's safer now than ever. Without he and Ladybug, Paris would have been destroyed several times over by now. How can he possibly leave when he's responsible for the safety of the entire city? And worse, how can he leave Ladybug to fend for herself?

So early in the morning, he packed a bag with some clothes, some cash and some food, but left his phone behind. He snuck out a window and walked far enough away to transform, then found a place far away to hide and think. His father probably won't notice his absence until later today. Adrien wouldn't be surprised if he failed to notice until he left for the airport.

Adrien doesn't know where he's going to stay, how he's going to support himself once what he'd taken with him runs out, but he feels free, as free as he usually feels with the Chat Noir costume on. Free from his father's expectations and criticism, free from his overscheduled life, free to choose the life he wants for himself. In a week it will be Bastille Day, a celebration of independence. Today feels like his own independence day.

He looks back toward the Eiffel Tower, toward where he knows his school, his _friends_ are. He's free from them, too. He can't see them, any of them, just in case they get caught up in his father's search. But he can't help but wonder—have any of them even noticed that he's gone?

* * *

 **I have two more chapters written, which I will post every few days until I'm caught up. Then I hope to update every 7-10 days. Reviews feed a writer's soul!**


	2. Icing on the Cake

**Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them, and they keep me motivated. Sarah, hopefully your questions are answered in this chapter!**

* * *

Marinette walks home from school, mood more subdued than she expected on the last day. Adrien never showed up. Around lunch time, she thought about texting him, but as friendly as they've become, is it friendly enough for a worried text? She overheard Nino say he tried and there was no response so far. If he hears anything, Alya will probably let her know.

She can't just show up at his place unannounced, either. If they're not close enough for a text, they're definitely not close enough for a sudden visit. Are they? If she had some sort of excuse, like bringing him class notes, or a get well card, or…

Marinette's shoulders slump. She thought she had one more day with Adrien, one more day to try to find the courage to make plans together. It's not too late to do that, but it won't be as easy or convenient. She reaches the corner where her family's bakery is located and sighs. Maybe putting in a few hours in the shop will help take her mind off of him.

"Happy summer holiday!" her parents yell in unison when she opens the door. Marinette clutches a hand to her chest in surprise, but it quickly fades at the sight of the treat on the counter: swirls of icing in varying shades of pink covering a short two-layer cake. It looks _delicious_.

"For me?" she cries happily, though she knows it is. "All for me?" She reaches over the counter to snag a fork, not bothering with a plate.

"Of course!" Tom says with a chuckle, batting her fork away and slicing off a piece. "Though we hoped that maybe you'd have a couple of friends in tow to share it with." He places the slice on a plate, and Marinette spins away with it toward the stairs.

She takes them two at a time, keeping her plate balanced with surprising ease; her dad likes to celebrate everything—big and small—with dessert. She takes a bite, heavenly as usual, once she enters her room.

Tikki flies out of her purse at nearly the same time. "Cake?" she trills. "Chocolate with pink icing?"

"Not as good as cookies, I know." Marinette holds out her fork to offer a fresh bite.

Tikki zips it off the fork and flutters in the air above Marinette's head, her mouth full as she speaks again. "Cake is a close second."

"There's more downstairs. I'll get an extra large piece for you after dinner." There is more than enough to share. In fact… She sets down the plate and pulls out her phone to text Alya. _Cake at my place. Chocolate with pink icing. You in?_

 _You have to ask?_ Alya texts back. _Be there in ten._

Marinette lifts her fork to take another bite and then sets it back down. Might as well wait to eat with Alya. She flops down on her bed.

Tikki hovers above her. "Are we patrolling tonight?" She glances over toward the uneaten slice of cake. "Or staying in?"

"I don't know. Chat and I talked about it, but we never made any official plans. Maybe?" She's pretty sure her parents will let her sleep in on the day after school gets out rather than getting up at dawn o'clock to prep the bakery. "Probably. Maybe I'll do something with Alya instead."

"Okay." Tikki glances at the cake again.

Marinette laughs. "You can have it, you glutton." She doesn't blame Tikki; the cake _is_ pretty amazing. She'll get more when Alya arrives.

Her phone pings then. _Here!_ Marinette bounces up and heads for the stairs. "Don't get a tummyache!" she calls over her shoulder. Do kwamis get stomachaches? Do they even have stomachs?

It's a question for another day.

* * *

In the kitchen, Alya devours one slice and starts into the second before she delivers the news. "Nino says Adrien never texted him back. And when he went by the house…" She pauses for dramatic effect. "His father's secretary told Nino that Adrien's going to Milan tomorrow morning."

Marinette stops chewing. "Milan?" She sounds like Tikki did! She swallows and adds, "Tomorrow morning?"

"That's the word, anyway." Alya places a consoling hand on Marinette's arm. "Sorry, girl."

Marinette frowns. She was really looking forward to seeing him this summer, _outside_ of school. And now she won't even be able to say goodbye? She lowers her chin to rest it on her folded hands on the counter.

"There, there." Alya pats her back. "Let's try to look on the bright side, okay? Absence makes the heart grow fonder. And now you have all sorts of time to, I don't know, sew, and... " She gets a manic light in her eyes. "...maybe help me with the Ladyblog!"

"Sure," she mumbles. She is going to be superheroing with Chat Noir, so she could pull a Clark Kent and pretend to have talked to an eyewitness. Or pretend to _be_ an eyewitness. She can make sure that she and Chat Noir are careful about transformations when she knows the rest of the team (whoever they end up being) are on the lookout. It'll give her something to do instead of worrying about Adrien. "I guess."

"Great!" Alya says, typing something furiously into her phone. "That's almost the whole class!"

Marinette sits up. "The whole class? Even including…" No, it can't be. "...Chloe?"

"Pshh, no, are you kidding? Sabrina might, but only if Chloe doesn't _need_ her for anything." She turns the phone so that Marinette can see the list. "So it's everyone except Chloe—and Adrien, since he won't be in town."

Marinette reads it quickly. It really is the whole class, minus those two. At least she'll know who to look out for.

"You just have to submit any sightings you have, okay? I'm so glad you're going to join us! Having you on the team will be like..." Alya takes her fork and pops another bite in her mouth. "...icing on the cake."

* * *

As Ladybug swings her way through the rooftops that night, she wonders if any of the Ladybloggers will see her—or Chat Noir. In fact, if one of them sees Chat, it's more than she has. She lands on the edge of a building and peers out across the city. She tried earlier to contact him with the communicator in her yoyo, but there was no reply. Where is he?

Folding her legs underneath her, she pulls out her mobile phone. Maybe the Ladyblog has seen him today. She scrolls through the most recent posts:

16:37 **Ladyblog Admin** : Quiet today so far. No sightings reported.

Alya posted that right after school, which makes sense. She's always assumed that she and Chat are close to the same age, so Chat was probably in school all day, just like her.

22:52 **ArtBoy01** : Caught Ladybug crossing Avenue Paul Doumer. No Chat. No akumas. On patrol?

There's a blurry photo of her soaring between buildings, just at the edge of the frame. Nathanaël must have already had his phone out to even get that close. That was fifteen minutes ago. She is a few kilometers away from there now, having already searched their usual haunts.

There's nothing else from today and nothing from the past few days, not since she and Chat were last out together when a user named AmourOiseau caught them in the Place Vendôme area. She doesn't know who in their class would have chosen that for an online handle. Is Alya outsourcing this job to anyone, or maybe allowing public submissions? She'll have to find out. If anyone can post then they'll have to be ten times more careful. She'll tell Chat—whenever she sees him again.

Ladybug sighs. She's doing a lot of that today.

Standing with a burst of determination, she tosses her yoyo forward to catch on a pole down the street and swings into action. She'll finish her patrol, go home, add a post to the Ladyblog to make Alya happy, and then go to sleep.

But as she gets closer to home, she finds herself detouring away from it. She almost doesn't consciously realize where she's going until she lands right across the street and looks down.

Into the windows of Adrien's house.

She pushes down her embarrassment, playing it off as concern. She's just checking on him, right? Seeing if everything is fine before he leaves for his trip. She can just peek in the windows to see how he's...

She covers her palm with her face. _Stop kidding yourself, Marinette. You just want one last look before he's gone for weeks._

She catches the edge of his roof with her yoyo and swings across, landing on the side of the building with a light thump. Then with light hops, she reaches the windowsill and peers in.

The room is dark. There are no suitcases anywhere; they are probably packed and ready to go by the front door. And even though it's getting late, there's no one in the bed. Maybe he's somewhere else in the house? Her eyes alight on the desk. Adrien's school bag is propped against one of the legs and his phone is charging beside the lamp. There are open school books spread across the surface of the desk. She squints to try to figure out what they are, and why he was studying when he is about to leave the country...

A sudden light blinds her from inside. The door has opened, the silhouette of Gabriel Agreste in the doorframe. Before she can move, he sees her there in the window and his stern expression changes to surprise. "Ladybug?"

Crap!

She wars for a moment between fleeing and pretending like she didn't see him, and it's enough time for Mr. Agreste to approach the window. "Is there something wrong?" he asks.

Just being here, hanging around outside the window, is suspicious. There's nothing for it now but to sheepishly open the window and come inside; it wouldn't do for Ladybug to start acting like a common criminal. "Hello, Mr. Agreste. Nothing's wrong. Just checking up on you."

"On me?" he says with a raised eyebrow. "Or my son?"

Whoops. "On both of you, since you've both been targeted by akumas."

"I see." He takes a step closer, folding his hands. She tries to stand firm, though every part of her is screaming to end this now. "And you do this with everyone who has been—" he pauses, and an unreadable emotion flickers across his face "—targeted?"

No, but it might be a good idea now that she's said it aloud. "You're the first. On quieter days, we might stop by, if that's okay."

He nods distractedly, looking past her to the outside. "Your partner, Chat Noir, is he with you?"

She shakes her head. "Sometimes we patrol separately." The awkwardness is starting to feel overwhelming so she lightly hops up to the windowsill again. "I should get back out there. I hope your son's okay." She stands and detaches the yoyo from her hip.

"Why wouldn't he be?" His tone is so dark, so suddenly worried, that she pauses in mid-throw.

He looks as worried as she was earlier today. Her heart drops. "Isn't he at home?"

He crosses the rest of the distance, his hands gripping the sill. "No. He never came home from school."

Ladybug tries to make sense of what she's just heard. "He didn't?" He never came _to_ school at all! A fluttering panic seizes her chest.

Mr. Agreste looks away from her, his face troubled. "He often stays out late. I'd just assumed that he was spending his last night before our trip with... friends." He looks back at her and frowns more deeply, if that is possible. "His phone just goes to voicemail and he hasn't answered his texts."

Did something happen to him on the way? An accident? Surely his own father would know about something like that! And of course he isn't answering his phone. "There on the desk—" She points, and Mr. Agreste turns to look. "Is that his phone?" If he doesn't have it on him, then was he... kidnapped? Captured by an akuma that hasn't made itself known yet?

"Yes," he says, slowly lifting the phone from the desk and turning on the screen. From where she is, she can see that its face is filled with notifications.

Her panic doubles. Where can Adrien be?

"If he doesn't have this..." Mr. Agreste says with a quiet voice. He turns back to her, his eyes hard. "And _you_ haven't seen him either..."

A rush of adrenaline floods her and her fists clench. "Notify the authorities that your son is missing. I will start searching for him myself."

As she's springing away, she hears Mr. Agreste call to her, "Ladybug!"

She stops on the lamppost.

"Bring him back to me."

It's more an order than a plea, from a man used to people following his wishes without question. But she had seen the worry in his eyes, the way he seemed stunned when he realized Adrien was really gone.

"I will. I promise."

She will do everything she can to see him safe and back where he belongs.

* * *

From the top of a tree, Chat Noir looks into his bag, angling it so that the streetlight illuminates the inside. There are only two more rounds of Camembert left inside. When he transforms back into Adrien, Plagg will need to eat. If he remains Chat Noir for a lot longer, Plagg will be twice as hungry when he transforms back. Which means he has one more transformation left, maybe two if they're short. His stomach rumbles and he takes another look inside; there's only an apple and half a stale baguette for him.

He really didn't plan this well.

He spent all day on his rooftop, out of the daylight, waiting for night and the dinnertime rush to be over before he ventured out again. He has no idea whether anyone is searching for him yet—with no phone or means to communicate, he is just as in the dark as any searchers.

He knows this: he's going to run out of cheese before tomorrow is out.

Now that he's had the whole day to think, he's decided he's down to just a few options. One: go back home, tail between his legs, and go to Milan in the morning. Father will be angry with him, and Adrien will pay for it, in both big and small ways. But in the end, it will be a win for Father.

Option two: to stay out until he's run out of food and money, missing the flight, and therefore the trip. But not forever. They can easily get on the next flight out, and it's still a win for Father.

And then there's three: to get help. And there's only one person in the world he can ask.

Ladybug.

Father doesn't know that Adrien has any connection with her, other than being saved once or twice. And really, _Adrien_ doesn't, any more than the rest of his classmates do. But Chat Noir does. And Chat Noir can ask a favor for a friend, can't he?

If he can find her.

He's been keeping to the shadows all night, staying out of sight. He supposes he shouldn't worry about being seen, not as Chat Noir, but something in his gut is telling him to stay cautious, trust no one except Ladybug.

He zips the bag back up and leaps off a sturdy branch to the building opposite. He doesn't know if Ladybug decided to patrol tonight, but he can't assume she isn't. Maybe he should head back toward school or Le Grand Paris hotel, the two locations where most of the akuma attacks have taken place. Before he does, he takes one more panoramic look around him to see if he can spy Ladybug dancing across the rooftops.

And, as he finishes his turn, there she is, flying toward him and landing with a graceful thump just a meter away. "Chat!"

He wants to grab her and hug her and spin her around, he's so happy to see her, but instead he cocks a hip and gives her finger guns. "Hey, Ladybug."

She gives him a crooked smile in return. "So you _were_ out patrolling. I never saw you." She lifts her yo-yo, gesturing with it. "I even tried to call _and_ text you. Was there trouble?"

He gives himself a mental forehead slap. He could have tried to use the staff to contact her! Wow, this whole situation with his dad is really putting him off his game. But instead of showing all that, he shrugs. "Nah. Paris is quiet today. You?"

He expects her to say the same thing, but instead she says the last thing he expects.

"Yes." Her eyes go wide and worried. "Have you seen Adrien Agreste?"

"Um." He rubs at the back of his head, suddenly nervous. He planned to tell her about a friend who needs help escaping a bad situation at home, and here she is, asking him instead. "Actually..."

She has her hands grasping his upper arms before he can react. "If you know something, you have to tell me. His friends and family are worried sick!"

"They... are?" His friends he can understand, but Father? He's likely more angry than worried. "You talked to them?"

Now it's Ladybug who is hesitating. "I... talked to Adrien's father, Gabriel Agreste. He was very worried when he realized Adrien was gone."

After he realized he contacted Ladybug? Or did he realize in Ladybug's presence somehow, which is weird in itself. Does it really matter? Father convinced Ladybug he was worried-he can be a very good actor when he chooses to be.

Before he can come up with a Chat-like response, she squeezes his arms urgently. "Please, Chat. Do you know where he is?"

"Yes." At her relieved and joyful expression, he can't help but add, "This Adrien Agreste must be some guy. Would you be this worried if _I_ were the one missing?"

She jumps back from him as if her hands are burned, her cheeks turning the color of her outfit. "I'm just glad he's safe! Not in an akuma's hands or—wait. Is he safe? You didn't say he was safe, just that you knew where he is."

"He's safe," he assures her, partly amused at her torrent of words, partly disappointed that she apparently thinks of Adrien as just another citizen to save. "Just in hiding."

"Hiding?" The space between her eyes crinkles up and her red, red lips purse in confusion. "Why? From what?"

"From—" he starts to explain, then stops. "I think it would be better if you heard it from Adrien yourself."

* * *

Adrien pulls at his clothes, and fusses with his hair, trying to ignore Plagg's chomping and smacking noises behind him. With a sudden realization, he stops. She's going to be here any minute now, and if he's going to convince her that he needs her help to stay _away_ from home instead of going back home, he should probably look more pitiful. He musses his hair and untucks his shirt a little.

"You shouldn't do that," Plagg says while chewing. "Your Chat hair is showing."

His eyes widen. Plagg's right. He dry-slicks it down frantically.

She should be here any minute—Chat Noir gave her a specific time to meet, explaining that he needed to explain things to Adrien first (when really he needed time to transform back and prepare for _her_ ). He hopes that she doesn't show up with the police or, worse, his father in tow.

There's a small thump on the other side of the chimney and then a quiet call, "Adrien Agreste?" Her voice sounds so young and unsure, he wonders if it's really her for a second. He shoots a warning look at Plagg to stay quiet and out of sight and takes a deep breath. "Adrien!" she says again when he doesn't answer right away.

He pokes his head around the corner of the wall carefully, as if he's afraid to show his face. It's not all acting—Ladybug could turn him in as easily as help. "Hi, Ladybug. Chat Noir told me you could help?"

She scans his appearance—he's not hurt but he must look pitiful enough because her eyes soften. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. A little hungry, a little tired—" a _lot_ worried what she'll do— "but okay."

She steps toward him, a vision of nurture and power at the same time, if that's possible. "I'm here now."

He smiles, and takes a step toward her as well. She's going to listen, she's going to help…

"I'll get you home."

He stops, his smile fading. "Wait. Did Chat Noir tell you why I'm here?" He knows he didn't yet, but will she let him explain?

She shakes her head but doesn't say anything.

He takes a deep breath. He's doing that a lot lately. "I… ran away."

Her mouth forms an 'O' of surprise. Then she frowns. "Wh—why?"

"My—" He stops, biting his lip. He's never really told anyone the full extent what life with his father is like. Nino knows more than the others, but only Nathalie knows everything. And she _works_ for Gabriel, so she's not exactly the best person to vent to. "My dad. He's very controlling. He has been my entire life. I was homeschooled, up until this year, because he was afraid to let me out of his sight."

Ladybug blinks. "I… I never knew."

"I thought things were getting better lately—that we were coming to an understanding. He even _hugged_ me after you saved him from Simon Says. I can't even remember the last time he showed any affection at all." Actually, he can, it was when his mother was still around, but it hurts to say it.

"Oh, Adrien," she says, voice soft and breaking a little. She steps forward and places a hand on his shoulder, the warmth from where she touches him seems to light all his nerves on fire.

To distract himself, he explains the rest in a rush. "And then yesterday, he announced we were spending the summer in Milan—48 hours warning, barely enough time to say goodbye to my friends, to cancel any plans I might have made for myself this summer. I begged, I pleaded, I argued my case, but he wouldn't hear it. He's going, so I must have to, too. Never mind that I'm sixteen and can spend a few months on my own." He can't tell her about the most important part of the equation—that leaving Paris means leaving the city unprotected... and leaving her. He has to hope that she'll accept only part of the explanation.

Her eyes are glittering blue with understanding. "I see."

His hope rises. "So you'll help?"

"Yes," she says, straightening her shoulders with purpose. "I will take you back to your father and mediate. Surely he has to listen if I—"

Adrien pulls out of her grip, hurt. " _No_. Didn't you hear me? He won't listen. He has _never_ listened. Everyone thinks he's this 'amazing, talented artist with a unique vision,'" he continues, fingers striking the air with savage air quotes, "but if you don't conform to his vision, you're nothing." He walks away from her. What was he thinking? That she would somehow believe him over fashion-god and Paris icon Gabriel Agreste? She only knows him as Chat Noir, which means she doesn't know him, not really.

"Adrien…" she says from behind him, and for all the world it sounds like she's coaxing a toddler with a tantrum. "What will you do? How will you live?"

"I'll figure something out," he says, looking out over the city. He can't look at her right now.

"I promised your father I'd bring you back to him." There's a thread of steel in her voice.

"Then you're going to have to break your promise." He turns back. "Or are you going to take me back against my will?"

Her face goes slack, stricken. "Adrien, no, I—" She turns away from him this time. "I just want you to be safe."

He doesn't hear what she says next because he slips behind the chimney again, whispering, "Plagg, Claws Out." He leaps off the roof and away, mid-transformation, his heart cold with betrayal.

But for some reason that he can't explain, he pauses on a high flagpole to look back. Ladybug searches the rooftop for him and then the street below. Slumping with defeat, she unslings the bag from her shoulder. Carefully, she sets a small, paper-wrapped package on the spot where they spoke. Then she's up and swinging away.

Hours later, when he dares to come back to look, he opens the package. His heart flares to life again. It's a piece of chocolate cake.

* * *

 **Next one will be coming on Sunday!**


	3. Mirror

**Here I am updating, Emma!**

* * *

"Thank you," Gabriel Agreste says, giving Ladybug a grave nod. "I know you did everything you could."

She feels a shiver of guilt. No, she didn't. She could have captured him with ease, taken him back with her, ignoring all his protests. She didn't do that because it felt wrong, but so does this. How is Adrien going to survive out there without his father, without his friends? "I won't give up," she tells him.

He nods again. The ensuing silence is so awkward that she just nods back and leaps from the window.

The next morning comes early. Too early. "Marinette?" her mom calls from downstairs. It barely registers, almost like a part of the dream she's having—of trying and failing to save Adrien, over and over again. This time, the sound of her name blends with her subconscious, Ladybug transforming into Marinette without warning in front of a crowd of people, and her mother's shocked face as she sees the whole thing. Adrien is right there, too. She hurt him when she wouldn't help him before, and knowing her true identity is a thousand times worse…

"Marinette!"

She bolts upright. Heart pounding, she expects to see a crowd yelling her name in fear and loathing. But all she sees is her mother, her head poking out from the stairwell. Her eyes crinkle when she smiles. "Are you hungry for breakfast, dear?"

Marinette rubs a hand over her face. "Coming," she mumbles through her fingers.

"Okay!" Mom says, her tone bright, and goes back down below.

She's not hungry. But going downstairs, talking with her parents, going to work as usual, it might keep her mind off of Adrien. She grabs her phone off her desk on the way to the stairs but she doesn't want to look at it. She doesn't want to chance seeing any headlines like: _Son of Fashion Mogul Gabriel Agreste Missing_ on the TVi news app.

Of _course_ the news is on the television when she heads downstairs. It's on mute, thankfully. She takes a purposeful seat with her back to it. Better to avoid reading it on the news crawl at the bottom of the screen. She picks up a croissant from the plate and butters it with long, slow swipes of the knife.

"Tired?" her mom asks, bringing a cup of cafe au lait to set in front of her.

Marinette nods and takes a small bite of the croissant. Normally she would just say she didn't sleep well, but she might have to explain why and that will bring up Adrien again. She just takes another desultory bite.

"Then take it easy today. No need to come work in the shop."

Marinette drops the croissant to the plate. "N-no, I want to work today. Once I get going I'm sure I'll be fine."

"If you're sure," she says, but starts to frown, her gaze focusing past Marinette's head to the TV.

Oh, no, here it is. They're reporting on Adrien's disappearance. She keeps resolute attention on her food.

"That's too bad," her mom says.

She will not ask what, she will not ask what…

"Guess there won't be much foot traffic today."

"What?" she asks.

"Thunderstorms." Mom pours a cup of coffee and adds the milk. "It's going to be a slow day. You don't need to help out if you don't want to."

Marinette turns to the TV. It really is just the weather report. "Okay," she says, distracted completely now, and pulling out her phone. She opens the TVi app—nothing about Adrien on the first page, or the second…

Did Gabriel not contact the authorities? Why not? Does he think Ladybug can handle it?

She's still frowning about this when her phone chimes with a text message. It's from Alya.

 _Nino heard from Adrien. He's safe in Milan._

What? She blinks a couple times at the screen in confusion. He… got on the plane? After everything about wanting to escape his father's control, he just… changed his mind? It doesn't make sense. She texts back, _Really?_

 _Really really, lol. You didn't think he'd make it safe?_

No, she didn't think he'd make it at all. But there's no news about a missing teenage boy. The proof he's in Milan sits right in her hand, so… _Sorry, tired. Glad he's okay._ She looks out the windows, where the dark clouds are already gathering. _Think I'm going back to bed._

 _What else is summer for?_

She'd been hoping for a lot more than this.

* * *

Sunset is a relief. Her mom wanted her to rest and just do nothing all day. Her body got on board, but her mind was another matter. She spent the gloomy, rainy daylight hours trading between napping, scribbling sketches that looked like a five-year old had drawn them, and checking the Ladyblog for Chat Noir updates.

She needs to find him, to let him know she tried, that she just wanted to see Adrien safe. But no akumatized villains appear. They're probably staying out of the rain. So there's no need for Chat either. Cats hate rain anyway, right?

She sticks out her tongue at herself. The rain's over now, leaving Paris with shimmery wet streets that sparkle in the moonlight, especially from high above. Out of the corner of her eye she catches a movement and whips around. But it's not Chat, just the shadowy form of a tree swaying in the light wind.

She shakes her head and twists open her yoyo to use as a communicator. He hasn't answered the last three texts, but why stop now?

There's still no answer.

With a frustrated grunt, she pushes off from the roof. She'll do one more circuit of the city, and then she's going home. She flies down streets and leaps across boulevards, so fast that no one even looks up at her passing. Maybe if she pushes hard she'll exhaust herself enough to fall into a dreamless sleep.

She almost misses him hiding in the shadows of the building across the street from Adrien's house. If not for the flash of the bell at his throat, she would have missed him completely. "Chat!" she calls, swiveling around in mid-air.

His green eyes go wide, and his mouth opens to speak. Then he leaps up and flees.

"What?" She can't believe it. He's actually running away from her. Is he so angry with her that he won't even talk to her anymore? Just because she failed to help Adrien? She has to explain—he doesn't know the other side of it! "Chat!"

The rooftops fly by as she chases him, staying just ahead. Is he faster than she is? She's never been able to tell before, since they've always worked in tandem. This feels strange, wrong, not at all how she knows they're meant to be.

 _Ladybug and Chat Noir are yin and yang, both parts of one whole. They are stronger together than apart,_ Master Fu told her the day she first met him. _This is why you are drawn to each other, why your powers complement each other. One of you alone could handle Paris and her daily troubles. But you can only defeat Hawk Moth as a team._

When she saw the two symbols entwined in Master Fu's Miraculous chest, it made sense. How her first day as Ladybug was Chat Noir's first day, too. The other Miraculouses surrounding the two in the center are supposed to be part of a larger team, as well. She's already seen what happens when one steps out of his intended role and becomes an enemy instead of a friend—

"Chat! Please!" she cries again, leaping and twisting around above him to gain ground. "You have to listen!"

He looks up at her, eyes narrowing in frustration. Then he drops straight down, into an alley between two buildings. She can't course-correct in time—she sails over and by the time she whips back around he's long gone.

There's another hour of fruitless searching, but she never finds him.

* * *

Three days go like this: wake up, wonder how Adrien is doing, worry about Chat, update the Ladyblog with Alya, work in the shop/in her room, patrol at night, try to catch Chat, fail, spend a restless night worrying about him. She finds herself almost wishing for an akuma attack, because at least Chat would appear for that, if not for her.

"I'm starting to wonder if I should just give up," she tells Tikki the third morning, staring up at the ceiling with bleary eyes. "All of it."

"Oh, no, Marinette!" Tikki flutters anxiously about her head. "You can't!"

She pulls the covers over her face to block out the cheery morning sun slanting in. "Why not? Chat Noir wants nothing to do with me anymore. Master Fu might as well choose someone else, someone who can work with Chat. " She doesn't mean it, not really, but the frustration is almost more than she can bear.

Tikki doesn't answer for a long moment. Is she gearing up for a tirade? The moment stretches into several.

Finally she asks, "Tikki?" Marinette uncovers her face and sees Tikki floating away to land on the desk.

She pulls the jewelry box from its hiding place and sits on top of it, her eyes closed. "If that's what you want, Marinette." Her voice is quiet and sad, full of defeat.

Marinette's heart stings with guilt. She jumps up, running over to the desk and scooping Tikki up. "No, that's _not_ what I want." She pets Tikki's head lightly to reassure her. "But I'm tired, I'm frustrated, and I'm out of ideas."

Tikki flutters around her face, rubbing along her jaw like a cat, then settles on her shoulder. "Maybe, instead of taking me back to Master Fu, you should tell him about this."

An hour later, Marinette is sipping a really good cup of oolong tea. _Really_ good. Tikki is nibbling on a cookie, sending shy glances over to Wayzz, who is digging into a plate of salmon. She wonders if Master Fu knows Chat Noir the way he knows Ladybug. Has Chat Noir been here, in his civilian form? What does his kwami look like? What does he eat? Master Fu likes to slide past the subject when she asks too directly.

So now she's taking slow sips of her tea because it seems to be the only thing to do now that she's told the story, and Master Fu is taking even slower sips himself. Is he contemplating her words? The cup chimes against the edge of the table as he sets it down. "Chat Noir will be fine."

It's so final that she can't help but ask, "Fine?"

"You should not worry."

Easier said than done. "I can make him listen?"

"You..." He takes his time with another sip before answering. "...cannot make him do anything. This is the root of his issue."

She blushes. Of course, she can't, she didn't mean to word it that way... She wouldn't want Chat to try to 'make' her do anything either.

"He must want to listen. Chasing him is counterproductive."

"Then..." She slumps against the cushions. "Do I just give up?" Just the thought is worse than trying until she kills herself with exhaustion. "I can't. I just can't. Didn't you say we're stronger together?"

"You are."

She throws her hands up. "Then?" Tikki flutters over to nuzzle her.

"Have you tried everything?"

Wasn't he listening to her story? "Everything I can think of. I tried to help, that failed. I tried to talk to him, that failed. I tried to chase him down, that failed, too. What else is there?"

"So," he says, sitting back. "You say _Ladybug_ has tried everything." She nods, and then he lifts his tea to his mouth again. "But you have not."

* * *

Adrien's stomach growls as he walks down the street, dark hoodie pulled low. People shy away from him a little as he passes. It's a good thing; no one will recognize him if they won't even look him in the face. It's so different from the overexposure he's always experienced.

Plagg is asleep in the handwarmer pocket. Adrien can feel him getting weaker. Every time he transforms it's harder. It's a good thing that there have been no akuma attacks for the past few days. He would be no more help than an actual kitten. Plagg needs more cheese than Adrien can provide, so he's starting to hibernate most of the day. Plagg could last longer if Adrien stopped transforming to patrol at night—but isn't that the main reason he wants to stay in Paris? In Milan, he can't fight Hawk Moth. He can't be Chat Noir. He can't fight alongside Ladybug—though that point seems moot right now.

He might as well turn himself over to Ladybug. It's getting harder and harder to evade her, anyway. But then he'll have to talk to her. And if he talks to her, he'll cave. He's never known anyone more able to change a person's mind. She just cares so much, your defenses melt, and you start to wonder why you ever thought any differently…

Ever since the night she left him the slice of cake—how did she know his favorite pastries came from Marinette's family's bakery?—he's known. If he talks to her again, it's all over.

"What I am going to do?" he asks the air, slipping his hands into his pocket to lightly pet the top of Plagg's head. He turns down an alley where he knows there's a drain pipe that's easy to climb. Once on the roof, he slips into an alcove, out of the sun, and tries to sleep until dark.

What wakes him up is not a noise, but a soft, wet sensation on his face. It takes him a moment to awaken enough to realize it's Plagg, licking his cheek. Adrien swats at his kwami with a groan. "Ugh, why are you doing that?"

"I tried to wake you up, but that's the only thing that worked!"

Adrien rubs at his eyes. "Are you hungry? I'm sorry, I only have enough money left to last the week and you already had—"

He floats up and out into the open air. "I smell _cheese_."

"Plagg!" Even his hoarse whisper seems too loud. They're nowhere near a grocery store or a cheese shop. Is Plagg delusional with hunger? "Come back here!"

He doesn't, floating even farther away. "It's close by."

"Someone will see you!" he tries again, but some invisible, possibly imaginary, smell draws Plagg on.

Adrien huffs and gets to his feet, throwing the hood back over his head. He has to catch Plagg before his cover is blown. He sprints across the rooftop. He's not as fast as he is in costume, and hunger is making him as weak as Plagg, but he doesn't have to run far. Plagg is hovering above a small bakery box, tugging at the lid. "There's… tape…" His claws spring out.

"Plagg, what are you—?" he says, trying to forestall the inevitable but it's too late.

He has the box open and burrows inside. There's no explosion, no trap—yet.

Adrien takes a careful step, looking in all directions. Whoever left this was so quiet that neither Adrien nor Plagg woke up. When he's close enough, he looks inside. It's cheese. Rounds and rounds of it. Plagg has already downed two in the short amount of time it took Adrien to get there. And there's also a bottle of mineral water and a sandwich for Adrien.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Adrien asks.

"Of course, it's safe. A friend—" Plagg swallows another round whole— "left it."

Adrien notices a small card inside, with writing he doesn't recognize. Did Ladybug leave this for him? But how would she know about what Plagg liked, or that Adrien and Chat Noir are the same person? Oh god, does she _know_?

 _Take care. Stay safe. Trust your friends._ There's a small symbol in the corner, green and octagonal. It looks a bit like… a turtle?

"Wait, you said a _friend_ left this?" He turns the note over for any other clues but there aren't any. "Who?"

"Wayzz. A turtle kwami." He reaches for another round.

Wait, another kwami? That _isn't_ a Ladybug kwami? He's never even seen Ladybug's kwami, and now there's another one in Paris? One that knows who he is and where he's hiding! Are they an enemy, like Hawk Moth? Adrien snatches up the box and closes it. "You're going to get sick! Who knows if this is safe?"

"The note said to trust your friends and Wayzz is my friend," he says with a pout, pawing at the box.

"You saw Wayzz. Actually saw him. Or her."

"Yes. I saw _him_." Plagg nods, then pauses. "Just when he flew away." He tilts his head. "Or I saw the box. It smells like him."

Adrien frowns. "All I can smell is Camembert, you loon."

"That's his signature on that card, or his Miraculous user's signature. I promise," Plagg says, closing his eyes and putting his paw over his heart. "It's safe."

"Okay." His nervousness subsides a bit—even if he doesn't fully trust this new kwami, he trusts Plagg. Adrien re-opens the box and takes out the sandwich. He has to snatch the box away immediately, though. "I'm saving the rest of the cheese for _later_."

"Miser," Plagg grumbles but he doesn't fight it.

The sandwich is good—no, great—though anything would taste great, as hungry as he is. And when it's gone, all too soon, he feels ready to face the world again. Maybe even Ladybug. _Trust your friends_ , the note says. He takes it out of the box and puts it into the pocket of his jeans to study more later.

He jogs back to his hidden alcove, takes a second look around, then cries, "Plagg, Claws Out!"

"Aw, already? It's only just past sunset—" But that's all Plagg gets out before the transformation magic overtakes him. Adrien feels the energy pour through him, so much stronger than yesterday, with Plagg back to full strength and Adrien no longer fighting hunger. He clenches his fists. Today he can face her. If he can find her.

He flips open the communicator in his staff. If he's lucky, she's out patrolling as well. There's no answer but that's okay, it's early. He feels so full of energy that he could make a full circuit of the city, maybe two. Bring on those akumas now! After all, if one appears, then Ladybug will, too! He heads for the school. The greatest number of akuma attacks have occurred in that neighborhood.

What if she's watching out for him at the last place they talked? He hitches in mid-jump when that thought comes to him and he scrabbles to make the next landing. Yes, that's where he should wait, the school is too close to his house. And he'll try her on the staff every hour, if he can wait that long.

The buildings rush by under his feet as he approaches, and when he's close he sees just the back of her head. His heart zings. She's waiting for him! He'd been so afraid that she would give up. He speeds across the rooftops toward her, calling out, "Lady!" in mid-air.

But as he lands, he draws up short. It's not Ladybug. It's Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"Chat Noir?" Her voice is shy, but not timid and stuttering like he's used to at school. "Ladybug said I might find you here..." She looks down, unsure. This is closer to the Marinette he knows. "She has a message for you."

"A message?" A nervous chill runs through him. Maybe Ladybug _has_ given up on him if she's sending a middleman.

"Please don't go!" Marinette holds out her hands, like she's trying to stop him from leaving. "She wants to explain and apologize."

He tries to let go some of the tension in his muscles. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. Tell her... tell her I won't run away this time. I just—" he's not sure how to explain it without sounding like a total dork— "needed time."

Marinette blinks a couple times. "Okay. I'll tell her. Anyway, um—" She stops, shaking her head. "Never mind."

Chat moves toward her, drawn by her uncertainty. "No, tell me."

She doesn't meet his eyes as she says, "Thank you for looking out for Adrien."

He's speechless for a moment. He didn't realize that Marinette cared for him enough to actually worry about him. They've always gotten along, but they're not close or anything.

"I didn't know you were friends," she continues. "But I'm glad. And he's safe now, so th—"

He's been processing her earlier words, but the 'safe' comment throws him right out of his thoughts. "Safe? How do you know? Have you seen him?"

Her eyes snap up, brows drawing together in confusion. "No, he sent his best friend a text, said he got to Milan all right." She purses her lips. "Maybe he doesn't know your—" she swirls her finger around toward his staff— "number."

Chat's face goes blank as he tries to decide how to react. He's not in Milan, obviously. But now all his friends think he is. And no one will be looking for him, either. But who would send a text pretending to be him? His father? Or Nathalie, at his father's request? And why? He's been avoiding all contact, so he doesn't know—did his father really go to Milan without him? A shadow crosses his thoughts—Gabriel Agreste will accept nothing less than a perfectly obedient son. Sending the text is just to keep up appearances.

That means Ladybug also thinks Adrien is in Milan.

"Chat?" Marinette asks, leaning forward to give him a gentle poke in the arm.

"Oh!" he recovers. "Uh, yeah, Adrien doesn't have my number." He shakes his head to clear the swirl of maudlin thoughts. This _could_ actually be a good thing. If his father is gone, then Nathalie is gone, and that means the house might be empty. If so, he can sneak in and get a change of clothes, some food from the pantry, maybe some items from his room to sell. He can't risk actually staying there, not with his father's security system in place. He wonders if the pass code is the same...

Marinette starts to back up, and the shuffling of her feet draws his attention. "I think I'd better, you know, go. And I'll tell Ladybug what you said—"

A scream in the distance cuts off her words. She and Chat turn as one toward the sound, bodies tensing for action. He only notes it idly, impressed that she isn't cringing away in terror or frozen with shock.

He pops up his communicator. "Ladybug! Possible akuma attack in progress!" He doesn't wait for an answer, turning to Marinette. "Stay here, out of sight. I'll come back for you when it's over!"

"Got it," she says, and jogs away to the alcove where he hid that first day.

He springs off the roof without looking back. He thanks god that the akumatized villain, or whatever it was, waited until he was back to full strength before appearing. He should be thanking Wayzz, or really his Miraculous user, as well.

He's only gone a few blocks when he sees Ladybug come beside him to flank him. "Chat!" she calls. "Marinette gave me a heads up!"

He wants to tell her how glad he is to see her, how relieved he is that they're working together after what felt like three years instead of three days, but the worried look on her face makes it all dry up. Instead, he says, smarm turned up to eleven, "That Marinette, she's a good kid."

Ladybug's smile tells him it was the right thing to say. That maybe things can get back to normal.

"Have you seen it yet?" she asks.

He shakes his head, and they just keep following the screams. A beam of light arcs across the sky, flashing brightly between buildings as it passes. "There!" he cries, pointing, and they aim toward it like a pair of arrows.

As they land, it's a scene of chaos. Monsters of many sizes and shapes chase people in all directions. A looter is breaking windows of a shop and ransacking the inside. A burly man cowers in fear beneath a table. A tiny woman chases one of the monsters herself. A couple lies across a table locked in a passionate kiss despite the pandemonium playing out all around them.

And in the center of the square, backlit by the fountain, is the akumatized villain. Her outfit is head-to-toe silver, her hair flowing and platinum. In her hands is a small compact mirror, which emits a dazzling beam of light. She doesn't see Ladybug and Chat Noir at first, training her beam on anyone who crosses her line of sight. As they watch, the beam hits a boy and his shorts literally go up in flames. Screaming, he jumps into the fountain to put them out.

Chat trades a nervous glance with Ladybug. It's going to be hard to block a beam of light with a spinning yo-yo or staff. He gestures to Ladybug to come hide behind a stall. "What do you think the mirror does?" he whispers, crouching down so they can both see.

"I don't know. It seems to affect each person differently." Ladybug's eyes narrow. "But the akuma has to be inside."

"How do we reach her without the beam hitting us?" He looks around the square—could they circle around on the rooftops of the buildings and sneak up behind her? Or maybe dodge the light beams by using the affected people as a sort of shield?

"We need to protect ourselves somehow." She looks up toward the awning covering the stall. It's dark vinyl, opaque enough that no light from the streetlamp shines through. "This might work, if we can get it down without her noticing."

Chat opens his palm and flexes his claws. "A little Cataclysm, perhaps?" She nods, and he slashes at the ropes and bars holding it in place. They dissolve, and the vinyl flutters down in front of the stall. He reaches around to drag it into their hiding place. Now the timer is ticking for him to transform back, but he quips, "Purr-fect, if I do say so myself." She shakes her head at the pun, but there's a hint of a smile behind it.

They lift the awning over themselves—it's large enough to cover both of them, but only just. His hip brushes against hers and it feels like a jolt of electricity.

"Snug as a bug in a rug," she says with a wink.

Chat forgets the awkwardness of their closeness for a second and gapes. "Did you just—"

"You think you corner the market on puns?" she counters with a tilt of her head.

"Oh, no. By all means, pun to your heart's content, my Lady!" Now her smile is full-blown. If she can do that in the midst of battle, then her relief at working together again must be as strong as his. More seriously, he asks, "I can use my staff to X-ray through the vinyl, but how are we going to take her out?"

"We'll take turns trying to knock the mirror out of her hands, so she can't get both of us at once." She gestures to move toward their target and then adds, "Other than that, it's all down to luck!" As they charge out of hiding, he hopes it's her _good_ luck and not his bad that wins the day.

They head toward the center, where they'd last seen Mirror Girl (that's what he's decided to call her), using the X-ray scanner in his staff and the radial pattern of the paving stones to guide them. Mirror Girl's eyes go wide and silvery as she catches sight of them, and she turns her compact mirror on them full-force. Adrien flinches back at the bright light coming through the screen—as long as it's him and not Ladybug, they'll be all right in the end—and then he realizes nothing has happened. Of course. The light cannot strike him directly. The vinyl protects them.

Mirror Girl growls, an almost metallic grinding sound. "Who's that behind the tarp?" she says, taking a few steps toward them and planting her feet. "Or should I say, _hiding_ behind it. Just like people with their secrets. I hate secrets!"

Chat's stomach drops. Her powers have to do with secrets? Secrets are all that stand between him and the life he wants to lead. He guesses Ladybug is much the same.

His ring beeps, a toe disappearing. He glances at her and sees that she's started to swing her yo-yo in a tight arc. "I'm going to try first."

He shows her the screen on the staff. She takes a measuring look and then exposes her arm just enough to launch her yo-yo from the right side. He can see as soon as it leaves her hand that she's going to miss. The yo-yo zings past only centimeters above Mirror Girl's hands, but it might as well be a kilometer. Mirror Girl whips her beam of light toward Ladybug's visible fist. With a bitten-off curse, Ladybug yanks the yo-yo back to land in her palm, narrowly avoiding the beam.

Mirror Girl's eyes narrow to slits. "Ladybug." Her face gets the far-off look that the akumatized often have—somehow communicating telepathically with Hawk Moth—and then she chuckles low in her throat and takes a few more slow steps forward. "Is your boyfriend with you? Show yourself, Kitty Cat."

"I'm fine where I am, thanks!" he calls back. To Ladybug, he whispers, "My turn."

Her eyes are wide and worried. "You're not going to hit the mirror without line of sight. And what if you're not fast enough?"

His ring picks that moment to beep. Two toes left.

"Then I'm not fast enough. Better me than you, right?" He feels a lot less confident than he lets show in his voice. With a click, he separates his staff into two pieces and holds up the side without the X-ray screen. "I'll distract her with this—furr-st," he says with a smirk, "and you try to hit her again. Like a one-two punch."

The smile is tight this time. "And if that doesn't work?"

"Then in two minutes—" he waggles his ring hand— "I'll make a run for her, try to tackle her."

Ladybug's lips set into a grim line. "That's a _last_ resort." But there's no attempt to talk him out of it.

"Come on out, you two," Mirror Girl cajoles. Her eyes flash as she says, "Let Mirror of Truth lay your secrets bare!"

Ah, that's her name! He was close. "Here goes nothing!" He lobs one of the pieces of his staff over their makeshift barrier, like a non-explosive grenade. She flinches, the beam going wide, and Ladybug flings her yo-yo, wrapping the cord around Mirror of Truth's wrists. Then Ladybug gives a mighty _yank_ and the villain stumbles to her knees as the compact goes flying. But it doesn't break—the beam spins in wild arcs as it skitters away.

Ladybug yelps and ducks below the vinyl, just escaping the beam. Mirror of Truth crawls toward the compact, and Ladybug fights to pull her back without getting in its bright path. To really bring home the seriousness of the situation, his ring beeps again. One toe left.

"My Lady," he says. "I should—"

"Go!" she tells him. "I can hold her down. And I still haven't used the Lucky Charm!"

She's misunderstood. He plans to tackle Mirror of Truth, not run away in the midst of battle. "It's bit hard to use Lucky Charm when your yo-yo is wrapped around M.O.T.'s wrists…"

"Chat!"

He gives her a two-fingered salute and pelts out into the open. He can't possibly get away before the transformation overtakes him, but maybe he can break the akuma free. A leap to avoid one beam, then another. He tucks and rolls across the ground, almost within reach…

It happens almost simultaneously—the flash of green that rolls over him and the beam of light that hits him in the chest—and he collapses onto the paving stones, boneless. Plagg soars into the air, out of reach of Mirror of Truth. Adrien has not just turned back to his de-powered self, he feels helpless, unable to move. He hopes Ladybug is staying safe behind the vinyl shield.

But an unkind laugh sounds to his right and he finds he can turn his head slightly toward Mirror of Truth, still struggling to remove the yo-yo's cord. "Just an average teenage boy, then. Nothing special at all. There's your truth, Chat Noir. You're _nothing_ without your power."

He's all too aware of that truth. The past few days proved that to him over and over. She doesn't seem to recognize him, thank goodness, but what does Hawk Moth see through her eyes? Her eyebrows rise as she listens to a voice only she can hear. Oh no, he's exposed, his life is over, he'll have to run away not just for the summer, but forever…

"How interesting!" Mirror of Truth says. Struggling against her bonds finally pays off, and she wriggles out of the yo-yo's grasp. Crawling close to lean over him, she says, "Time to take your Miraculous, Adr—"

"No—!" Ladybug's voice cuts off with a gasp as she comes into his field of vision. Covering her mouth with her gloved hands, she finishes the name Mirror of Truth began. "Adrien?"

* * *

 **The next chapter is at beta now, so I should have it here in a few days! Keep those reviews coming, they brighten my day. ️**


	4. Sanctuary

**Sorry for such an evil cliffhanger last time! Here we go...**

* * *

Marinette tries to take back the word still floating on the air: Adrien. But she's in shock. He lies there, blinking back at her, dressed in a dark hoodie and well-worn jeans. He's supposed to be in Milan, not Paris! But he's here and somehow also Chat Noir. How can Chat and Adrien be the same person? Sure, they're the same height, age, hair and eye color...

Oh, wow, how did she ever miss that it's _Adrien_.

His personality is so different as Chat! Then again, so is hers, right? As Ladybug, she's never stumbled over her words or turned an akuma capture into a series of increasingly embarrassing pratfalls. Her powers make her stronger, more confident, more able to be her true self. He must be the same.

She wants to spend about fifteen years freaking out over this truth, this reality that she never saw, but really should have. But she can't; she has to set it aside and deal with the implications later. She only allows herself a few seconds, long enough for her to recover and kick Mirror of Truth's reaching hands away from Adrien. For good measure, Ladybug picks her up and drops her into the fountain, ignoring her spluttering protests. Then she walks carefully toward the compact mirror, which has blessedly stopped spinning.

She's afraid to touch it. What if it transforms her as well? Her identity could be compromised—not just to Mirror of Truth, who will forget once her akuma is cleansed, but to Hawk Moth, who will know and use it against her. And what else might it do? Adrien's truth paralyzed him. Her truth would likely be just as bad. She can't risk getting too near it, even to break it with her boot.

Adrien whispers hoarsely, "Lucky Charm, my Lady."

She turns toward him, lying there on the ground, meeting his deep green eyes for the first time since his secret was exposed. In some ways it feels like the first time she's ever looked into them. They're full of trust and confidence in her, that his sacrifice will be worth letting Hawk Moth know his true identity.

He's sacrificed himself too often, each time taking the brunt of the akumatized villain's curse to protect her. Even if it will cost him everything. Even when it has.

She gives him a sharp nod. She retracts her yo-yo into her palm and then cries, "Lucky Charm!" as she throws it skyward. With a burst of light and exploding magic, it lands back in her hands. It has become a long, heavy, red-polkadotted pair of pliers.

Usually it takes her a moment to come up with the idea of how to use the Lucky Charm, but not this time. She opens the jaws and ever so slowly reaches toward the mirror.

"Lady!" she hears from Adrien behind her, but she's more alerted to the sound of wet shoes slapping against the paving stones.

With a mighty swing, she knocks Mirror of Truth onto her derriere. Groaning and clutching her stomach, she flops backward.

But Ladybug doesn't wait to see if she'll get up. Once she breaks the mirror and cleanses the akuma, everything will reset to normal. She deftly places the jaws of the pliers on either side of the mirror and _squeezes_. The glass shatters into shards, and a dark purplish smoke releases the akuma.

With relief, she tosses the pliers into the air and shouts, "Miraculous Ladybug!" As she watches, the magic swirls throughout the square, reverting all of the affected back to their original states. And Mirror of Truth is sitting up, stunned, just a young girl with no memory of what happened. "W-where am I?" She stands and picks up her now-whole compact mirror, then wanders away toward the other side of the square.

Ladybug captures and cleanses the akuma quickly, and it flies off to wherever they go after an attack. But she doesn't watch it; her gaze is squarely on Adrien. He has not returned to his Chat Noir form—his time was up before he was hit. He has risen to a sitting position and is rubbing at the back of his head. Will he remember that she knows the truth? Or did the magic erase it all?

"Adrien," she says, crouching beside him. "Are you all right?" Her earring beeps. Four minutes left—she's going to have to make this quick, there are people all over the square, and they're no longer under akuma control.

He nods, looking around the square, resting on the awning which has returned to the stall, none the worse for wear. As he does, he fingers his silver signet ring—another thing she completely missed before—and then hides that hand in his lap.

He turns to look at her, a confused frown on his face. "I'm okay, I just—don't know what's going on." Then his eyes slide away from hers, glancing around the square again. "Why am I here? And not in Milan?"

She presses her lips together. He's trying to hide the truth, understandably. Or his memory of everything post-truth beam is erased. Probably some of both.

"What do you remember?"

He focuses on her again. "I was in my hotel room and I suddenly found myself here." The next beep sounds and he sends a worried glance to her earring. "Anyway, I—"

"Adrien, stop." This is no use. His story doesn't make any sense; she can't let him twist himself into knots. With a sigh, she takes his hand in hers, the one with the ring, and leans in close so that no one will hear. "I know. I saw you transform." She glides her thumb over the surface of the ring.

He yanks back his hand as if burned. His expression churns with a mixture of despair and hope as he slowly drops it back to his lap. "You saw?"

"You waited until you were down to one toe before you tackled her. Your transformation was hard to miss," she tells him with a gentle smirk. "Though no one else saw. Everyone in the square was dealing with their own personal truths at the time." Her earring beeps for the third time. She stands, preparing to leave, though it's the last thing she wants to do. They have so much to talk about.

"My Lady…" he says, his voice breaking. "I need to explain—"

"And you'll get a chance. Soon." She scans the area for a likely escape route. "Can you get out of here on your own?" Who knows how long it will be until Hawk Moth tries again.

"Yes, I'll be fine."

"As soon as I can, I'll text you a location on my Miraculous to meet up. Okay?"

"Okay."

But she's off and over the rooftops before she hears anything else. Oh my god, she can't believe it… _Adrien_!

* * *

Adrien spends a few minutes sitting on the pavement before he moves. Ladybug saw him. Ladybug _knows_.

He understands why she didn't transform for him in return—there are too many people around. Will she reveal herself once they're in private again? Will she refuse again? When they first started out, she was adamant that they should keep their identities a secret, even when he wanted to tell her the truth. So does this really change anything?

Wow, he cannot get over this. Ladybug _knows_. The girl he's got a crush on knows! He smiles at the thought.

But the smile fades again. She knows, so she knows he's a runaway. Will she understand? If she was forced to leave Paris for months, would she have done the same? Or would she have told her family—whoever they are—the truth? Maybe they are more understanding people than his father is.

"Hsssst!"

He looks up toward the sound. Plagg is hovering just inside the repaired stall awning, trying to stay out of sight.

"Adrien!" he calls. "We need to get out of here!"

Plagg's right. Adrien can't let this shocking development put him so far off his game that he puts himself in danger. Throwing the hood over his head, he levers himself back onto his feet and jogs to the stall. Plagg zips back into his handwarmer pocket, and Adrien just keeps going. He needs to get out of here before anyone recognizes him. It would be just his bad luck that some fan posts a picture on Instagram, and then his father or Nathalie will find out. He's lucky that everyone who might have seen him transform was affected by Mirror of Truth's akuma...

As he ducks into an alley, it hits him. Hawk Moth now knows who he is.

He falls back against the brick wall, the breath going out of him in a panicked rush. There's no way he can go back home now, even to grab food. His father is in danger, his friends are in danger. Any of them could be possessed by an akuma and come after him if they know where he is. Any of them could be kidnapped or hurt in order to draw him out. He has a burst of worry for his father—if he stays in Milan, he's much safer.

How is he going to last now? He left the cheese up on the rooftop, but when that's gone, what will he do? He can't depend on the turtle kwami to bail him out every time.

The only person he can trust completely is Ladybug. If she'll help him.

As if he's reading Adrien's mind, Plagg whines from below, his voice muffled by fleece. "Are we going to get some cheese?"

"Yes, but we have to get back to that rooftop again." And fast. Now that his identity is in danger, he's safer as Chat Noir. Or if not safer, he can at least fight back. Plagg whines an assent, and they're off.

It takes longer than he wants, and he's constantly looking over his shoulder and jumping at every sound, but he's finally pulling himself onto the rooftop about thirty minutes later. He jogs over to the little pastry box and before he can open it, Plagg is flying out and prying open the box. He doesn't have the energy to complain. They really don't have any time to waste.

"Just one, okay? We need to save the others for later."

Plagg takes his claws out of a second round and lets out a dramatic sigh. "Fine." He licks at each claw with his long tongue and smacks his lips. "I guess this'll have to do."

"Then, Claws Out!" he says, his call more nervous than courageous.

The transformation magic has barely faded before he's popping open the communicator in his staff. _Meet me at 26 Rue Baudoin, second floor, as soon as you can._ Why there? Is this where Ladybug lives? He thrills a little with the possibility. There's a GPS address attached, and he studies it. It's in the 13th arrondissement, which isn't too far. At least, not too far as Chat Noir. Adrien would be exhausted and footsore by the time he got there.

As he races across the city via staff, he's less worried, but no less suspicious of every movement and sound. He doesn't know how Hawk Moth's telepathic ability works. Can he see through the eyes of anyone he wants? Or only those he's akumatized? Could he be randomly akumatizing people throughout the city in order to keep tabs on him? Chat doesn't know, and that's scary.

So he keeps to shadows as much as possible on the way, and when he gets to 26 Rue Baudoin, he climbs down from the roof to look into the window instead of coming from the street. Inside, he can see Ladybug sitting down, holding a cup of tea. She glances toward the door more than once as he watches. An older man with a short graying goatee sits opposite her, as patient as she is worried. Is this her place? Is that her father? He reconsiders: he must be her grandfather.

Just as he has that thought, the man looks up and catches his eye in the window, and Chat freezes, caught. The man beckons with one hand, and Ladybug swiftly turns to look, the sudden relief plain on her face. He feels the same relief reflected in his heart.

He clambers down in order to try the window from the outside. It's unlocked, he realizes. Is this how Ladybug gets in and out as well? He has so many questions now that things are out in the open. Maybe this will be the start of some answers. He gives them a half-grin and slides open the window.

"Good evening, Adrien. Please sit," the man says after he closes the window. "Would you like some tea?"

'Adrien?' He gives Ladybug a nervous glance. She returns a slight nod. "Uh, thanks," he tells the man. To Ladybug, he whispers, "He knows?" He can't believe it—she didn't want to reveal her identity to him but she's obviously lost no time in telling her family about his.

She opens her mouth to respond, but before she can, the man says while still facing the stove, "Yes. I know both of your identities. In fact," the man continues, "I was the one who chose you."

Chat sits straight up. " _Chose_ us?" To Ladybug, he says, "Your grandfather chose us? How did he even know m—?"

The man and Ladybug look at each other. Then they both laugh. "Grandfather?" Ladybug says, covering her mouth and giggling in a way that seems familiar somehow. "No! Master Fu is just a friend. We're not related."

"A friend… who chose us?" Chat is more confused now. What is this place if it's not Ladybug's house? "Your name is Master Fu."

Master Fu sets the tea in front of Chat, inclining his head. "I apologize. I should have introduced myself right away. As she said, my name is Master Fu, the current Guardian of the Miraculous. And as _I_ said, I chose both of you to bear the gift."

"But why me? Why us?" he asks, not wanting to sound ungrateful. Becoming Chat Noir is the best thing that's ever happened to him. He never wants to give it up. He sees Ladybug sit forward a little, as if she's just as interested in the answer. Oh, Ladybug. He never wants to give her up either.

"Paris needed protection against Hawk Moth. He'd risen again after many years of silence to wreak havoc. And you proved yourselves worthy of the power." He looks down, rubbing at a green turtle-shaped bracelet on his wrist. "So I made sure the proper Miraculous made it into your hands."

"That..." Chat says, pointing to the bracelet. Many things are making sense now. "You're a Miraculous user, too. Wayzz belongs to you."

"I _was_ a Miraculous user, though it's been a long time since I had the strength." Wayzz floats up from wherever he was hiding and sits on Master Fu's shoulder to regard Chat. "And no one can own a kwami," he chides. "You should well know that. They are older than recorded history and more powerful than we can know. But..." He reaches up to stroke Wayzz's head. "He has been my best friend for many, many years."

Chat finds himself nodding. He doesn't know what he would do without Plagg, as much as he can be annoying and demanding. Which reminds him. "Claws In," he says, and lets the de-transformation flow down his body.

Plagg floats up from the ring and notices the other kwami right away. "Wayzz!" he cries, zipping across the table to tackle Wayzz off Master Fu's shoulder. "How ya doin', my old friend! Got anything good to eat here? You gotta have something..."

"I see you haven't changed," Wayzz tells Plagg, voice dry. "There's food in the kitchen."

As the two kwami float that direction, tiny voices raised in conversation, Adrien turns to Ladybug. "Is your kwami hungry all the time, too?"

"Not like that," she says, laughing. "Tikki likes cookies, though."

"Tikki," he says quietly. Every little thing he learns about her he wants to hold onto like a precious gem. There are cookies on the table, and they don't look like they've been touched. "Is she hungry now?"

"She..." Ladybug glances at Master Fu, who gives her a small shake of his head. What does that mean? "Um, I've got plenty of food for her back home." She doesn't meet his eyes.

Oh. It means she doesn't want to transform in front of him yet. His face falls, but he understands. And it makes sense, really. He's been exposed to Hawk Moth, but she hasn't. If he were captured or akumatized, he might reveal the truth. Why risk both of them?

"Adrien," Master Fu says, leaning forward to touch Adrien's leg. "You have sanctuary here if you want it."

He desperately needs somewhere to go. And Master Fu seems to have a lot of the answers he's been craving. "But if I stay here, are you in danger?"

"Hawk Moth does not know I'm still around. And he cannot find you here. My own Miraculous protects me and anyone with me, a sort of… shield."

Adrien looks at the bracelet again. "Like a shell?"

"Exactly."

"If you're sure I won't put you in danger—"

"I'm certain."

"I don't have any money, or any way to pay for rent or food—"

"The only payment I need is knowing you're trying to stop Hawk Moth."

"Then…" He looks into Ladybug's wide blue eyes. She's been so quiet this whole time, not trying to persuade him or influence his decision. But her face is so hopeful, and her trust of Master Fu speaks louder than persuasion. "...yes, I'll stay. Thank you."

Ladybug's face breaks into a huge smile, and she clasps one of his hands in both of hers. "I'm so glad, Adrien! I've been so worried since you never showed up to school on the last day, and then after you went missing from your house, and I didn't understand why you ran away at first, but now it all makes perfect sense—"

"Whoa," he says. "Slow down." He doesn't know why he says it. He _likes_ her hands on him and the thought that she's spent so much time thinking about him and worrying about him, even from the moment he went missing… Wait. "How did you know I missed school?"

Her cheeks suddenly flame, nearly as red as her mask, and her mouth makes a small 'o' of embarrassment. That looks awfully familiar, too, but he's more interested in her explanation than figuring it out. "Um, I, Marinette told me about it."

"During school?" Wow, he really did not know Ladybug and Marinette were that close. The chocolate cake makes sense now. He wonders just how close they are. Does Marinette know Ladybug's identity?

"Yeah, she, uh… texted me. She was worried."

"Oh," he says.

"Yes, Marinette and her friends as well."

Marinette, and Alya, too, and didn't Marinette say before that Nino had been texting him? And to think, he wondered that first day if anyone would notice.

"Not just your father," she adds.

His stomach drops at the reminder. He was so mad about the unannounced trip, and now he's put his father in greater danger. Please stay in Milan, he thinks. Please _be_ in Milan.

"You should not worry about your father," Master Fu says. "He is in no danger from Hawk Moth."

Is it that obvious? But… "Why not? Is Hawk Moth's reach only limited to the city?"

Master Fu gives him an enigmatic smile. "Something like that."

Suddenly, an idea hits Adrien so hard he clutches at Ladybug's hands. "You know who Hawk Moth is! You said you knew who we were when you chose us!"

He looks at her for support, and she tilts her head, curious to see where his train of thought is going.

"Then let's hit him when he isn't expecting it, while he's not transformed!" He's starting to get excited now. They've always been forced to go on the defensive and react to Hawk Moth's schemes. With this plan, they can launch an offensive and attack first! "Finally! A way to defeat him once and for all!"

Ladybug's eyes get bright as well. "You're right, Adrien. That could work! If we catch him off guard, perhaps he won't have time to use his Miraculous—"

" _No._."

They both turn to Master Fu, who wears a deep frown.

"You must not."

"But he knows who _I_ am now." It's the whole reason he's hiding out here! "You're fooling yourself if you don't think he's going to use that to his advantage."

"To defeat him that way is against the principles of Miraculous magic."

Now Adrien is frowning. "Surely what he's doing _now_ is 'against the principles of Miraculous magic,' isn't it? Twisting people's emotions to turn them into villains?"

Master Fu goes very still. "The only thing that will truly defeat Hawk Moth is the pure heroism of an untainted Miraculous." His voice drops an octave. "I would not see _another_ Miraculous tainted by evil."

The tone of his voice makes Adrien shudder. What does that mean? But it's Ladybug that asks, "Did Hawk Moth used to be... good?"

Master Fu closes his eyes and lets out a long breath. When he speaks, it's slow and deliberate. "Hawk Moth was once Luna Moth. He used his power to give people superpowers, temporarily. He and his partner worked together closely to help people, like the two of you. But then..."

Ladybug still has her hands clasped around his, and she squeezes, her body tense, "Then what?"

Master Fu pauses again, and even more slowly, he says, as if he's dragging each word out individually, "He lost his partner. The shock was so great that he never recovered."

Adrien goes cold all over. "When you say 'lost,' do you mean...?"

"Lost." Master Fu doesn't explain.

The cold turns to absolute ice. If Adrien lost Ladybug, he doesn't think he would recover either. He looks at her and sees tears forming at the corners of her eyes as she regards him in return. "How awful," she whispers.

Adrien's been through it before—when he lost his mother as a child. He was so young then that the loss has faded to a dull ache. But his father... he's mourned her loss so deeply that he never moved on, and their relationship has suffered greatly as a result.

One of the tears is now trailing down Ladybug's cheek. Has she lost someone, too? Or is she imagining losing him, the way he did...

"The pain festered for years," Master Fu goes on. "Until it changed him from a bringer of light to a carrier of darkness."

Adrien can see it's true, Hawk Moth can transform people into anything and he always chooses pain and destruction. Even his akumas are dark as night. What would happen if Adrien let the same thing happen to him? He could use his Cataclysm for so much worse than fighting akumas, and his bad luck could infect others as well.

He's brought out of his thoughts by one of Ladybug's hands stroking along his thigh. "That won't be you, Adrien," she says gently. He realizes then that he's been twisting his signet ring on his finger.

"It _can't_." Master Fu's voice is firm. "Another evil Miraculous user would bring this city to its knees. Which is why you must not use spurious methods to capture Hawk Moth."

"I understand," Adrien says, his voice thick.

Master Fu stands carefully, his hand gripping the edge of the table for support. "I will prepare your bed now, Adrien," he says, with a kind smile, all of the dark warning gone from his voice. "Then I'll be turning in myself. These old bones should have been in bed hours ago. Goodnight, Ladybug."

She nods. "Goodnight." She lets go of Adrien's hand, and he misses the warmth immediately. "I think that's my cue to leave."

He looks up at the clock. It's thirty minutes past eleven, but in July the sun doesn't set until nearly ten. An hour together, really less, doesn't feel like enough time. And they really need to talk about everything that happened tonight. Alone. "Do you have to?"

She glances toward where Master Fu has gone. "I really shouldn't stay, you know, after he's gone to bed." Spots of color rise on her cheeks. "It wouldn't be right." The self-consciousness she's shown tonight is so different from the confident Ladybug he's always known. Is it because he's Adrien instead of Chat Noir? Adrien is just a normal teenage boy and now a runaway in hiding. Chat Noir is bold and brash, full of the joy of life. It doesn't make any sense.

"Okay," he says. He won't push her.

"But we can talk tomorrow, okay? I'll drop by one of those disposable mobile phones and we can text until it's time to patrol or there's another akuma attack."

"All right." He was hoping they might see more of each other than fighting akumas and patrolling now that his secret is out. He puts a little Chat-charm into his voice. "Maybe you could stop by more than that..."

Ladybug transforms from shy to fondly annoyed in a second. She pats his head. "Silly kitty," she says. "Of course I will." Then she leans down to give him a quick kiss on the forehead.

He feels the press of her lips there long after she's gone.

* * *

Marinette de-transforms on her roof terrace and sinks boneless into the chair. Oh my god, Adrien. She held hands with Adrien. She kissed Adrien! Only on the forehead, but still.

Tikki flutters up from Marinette's purse instead of phasing through the trapdoor to dig into the cookie stash in Marinette's room. She's holding Marinette's mobile phone. "Your phone is... 'blowing up,' I think you call it."

"What?" Marinette takes it and looks at the screen. She's set it to notify her of any sightings of Chat Noir from the Ladyblog, but that's not it. The texts are all from Alya. She reads through them quickly, eyes widening. They all boil down to one main message.

 _OMG! One of the Ladybloggers took this tonight! Guess he's not in Milan! ;D_ Attached is a photo of Adrien sitting dazed beside the fountain. Crouched beside him, her hand touching his, is Ladybug.

* * *

 **A lot of this chapter is speculation mixed with bits of fanon. I'm really interested for the show to explain these things!**

 **I am now caught up with the written chapters. Expect to see the next one in 5-7 days.**

 **Comments are love!**


	5. Messages and Meanings

Marinette reads through the texts a couple of times. What is she going to do now? She was intending to keep Adrien's presence in the city a secret from Alya—she doesn't need to know. Hawk Moth knowing is a disaster, and anyone else even suspecting where Adrien is could be easily akumatized to draw him out.

She switches over to the Ladyblog to check to see if the photo has been posted there—after all, any Ladybug sighting is usually fair game—but she doesn't see it. That doesn't mean it isn't queued to go up later.

So she texts Alya back, _Oh wow, why didn't he tell anyone? Did you put that up on the blog?_ then hits send.

She hears a chime from below, through the trapdoor. Oh no, Alya is _in her room_.

Did she come over when Marinette didn't answer her zillion texts? Do Marinette's parents know she's gone? Marinette checks her phone for a frantic voice mail or something, but whew. Only texts from Alya. Alya must have kept her absence quiet.

Her phone buzzes again. _Not yet, wanted to show you first. Where are you, girl?_

Okay, as she sees it, she's got two options. One: go through the trapdoor and explain how she mysteriously arrived on the roof. There's no way Alya didn't check here when she found the room empty. Two: re-transform and swing down, then de-transform and go through the bakery. That way she risks waking her parents, and that might be worse.

So if she goes with option one, what _is_ her explanation?

 _"Oh, I was on the other side of the roof, you didn't see me?"_

 _"Ladybug dropped me off; we're like, super good friends now. I never told you? Huh."_

 _"I'm actually Ladybug and I've been hiding it from you all this time. Don't be mad, okay?"_

She sighs. Though she hates to admit it, she's always known this was going to happen sooner or later. Alya is too smart and too curious and she'll probably follow the breadcrumbs to the truth before the year is out, if not the end of the summer. Should Marinette just admit the truth?

No, she can't. Not now. Not until Adrien is safe from Hawk Moth.

 _I snuck out,_ she writes back. _I heard about the akuma, and I tried to get a photo of Ladybug. I got there too late._ She looks at the blinking cursor for a minute and realizes that won't work. If she was using her phone, why didn't she respond to Alya's texts, then?

She erases and tries again. _I snuck out. I heard about the akuma, and tried to get a photo of Ladybug but my phone went dead._ No, that's dumb. How is she texting now?

With a sigh, she tries for the last time. _I snuck out. I was bored and went for a walk. Forgot my phone was on silent." It's simple, but easier to swallow. After a moment's thought, she adds, Can you check to see if Mom and Dad are up so I can sneak back in?_ Then she sends.

Alya sends back an eyeroll emoji and a _Sure._

"Sorry, Tikki," she tells her kwami. "I just have to get down to the street..."

Tikki nods. "It's okay." But she looks tired. Marinette will have to make sure she gets extra cookies on her way through the bakery.

Alya lets her in about ten minutes later, dressed in pajamas, but acting the part of the secret agent to the hilt: lights out, opening and closing the door as silently as possible, avoiding the squeaky step. She notices Marinette grabbing a handful of cookies and gives her a big thumbs up. "Payment," she mouths. Marinette sneaks another handful and drops them into her purse.

Alya plops onto the bed, tucking one leg under her, and pulls her laptop over to show Marinette. "Seriously, look at him. What is he doing back in Paris... and dressed like a street rat, no less?"

Marinette looks at the photo in its larger size. She guesses he looks less put together than usual—the hoodie, the dirty jeans, the scuffed tennis shoes. Not to mention the dazed expression on his face from just finding out Ladybug knew his identity.

"Maybe it's like... an advertisement for his dad's new line?" she suggests lamely. "Homeless chic or... I don't know."

Alya tilts her head, pursing her lips. "Not sure it's a good look on him." Then she tilts the other way. "Who am I kidding? Any look is good on him."

"Agreed." Even skin-tight leather and cat ears. A rush of embarrassment runs through her again. How could she have been so blind?

Alya mistakes her reaction. "Come on, girl, it's just a photo! You've got to get over this. He's not even in the room."

Marinette sighs. "I know." She's been spending lots of time with him all year and not even knowing it. Somehow she has to reconcile Adrien with Chat and she has to do it fast. His life depends on it.

"Well, maybe now that he's back in Paris, you can get to know him better. He may be rich and a model, but under all that, he's just a normal guy."

Marinette lets out a laugh. "Yeah." It's weird—somehow finding out Adrien is her goofy pun-spouting superhero partner makes him _more_ normal than before. Like he's off the pedestal she'd placed him on, and more... attainable. "He's just your average boy-next-door."

Alya smirks. "Now I didn't say that..." She types a couple of blazing-fast sentences on her laptop and then clicks something. "Bam."

"Bam...?" Marinette blinks a couple times and then realizes what just happened, reaching a futile hand toward the keyboard. "You posted it?"

"Of course!" Alya says with a smug smile. "It's the best photo of Ladybug from the battle tonight."

Marinette thinks back to everything she said to Alya since entering the bakery, and sits heavily on her desk chair. "I... I was gonna ask you not to and I forgot."

Alya sits back, perplexed. "Not post it? Why?"

"He..." Marinette racks her brain and decides on, "He might not want anyone to know he's back."

It must be something in her voice because Alya stills, then she sets her laptop over to the side and scoots closer. "Wait. What do you know?"

"N-nothing, it just—look at the way he's dressed—"

"Bored? Went for a walk?" Her eyelids go wide. "You were with him, weren't you?"

She wants to lie, wants to come up with some other excuse, but the whole Adrien revelation is really putting her off her game, so she whispers, "Yeah."

Alya claps her hands together, a loud pop that makes Marinette jump. "Hot damn!" She grabs the seat of Marinette's chair and drags her close, nose to nose. "Tell me _everything_."

"Uhh… so actually… Adrien ran away from home."

"No!" Alya says, fingers itching like she wants to take notes. "Why?"

"His father was forcing him to go to Milan for the summer, and…" Marinette struggles with the reasons. She hadn't understood Adrien's reasons until she understood he was also Chat Noir. "...um, his father I guess has always been super-controlling, and he just like, snapped?" She clenches and unclenches her fingers as she continues. "And for some weird reason his father sent that text to Nino to make it look like Adrien was with him, and it's all like family drama…"

As she's been talking, Alya leans farther and farther forward, eyes wide as saucers. "I had no idea."

"I didn't either, until I stumbled into him." Really, was looking intently for him. "It took a while, but he finally told me everything."

Alya glances toward her laptop but shuts her eyes purposefully. "The media would have a field day if they found out about this."

"You can't tell anyone! There's too much danger as it is—"

"Of course, I won't, girl!" Alya interrupts, affronted. "Wait. Danger?"

"Of… of Mr. Agreste finding him, pressuring us to tell him where Adrien is."

Marinette makes it through enough explanation to satisfy her, and Alya takes the photo off the site. And she'd managed it without revealing anything about their superhero identities, or the fact that she knows the truth, and Adrien doesn't.

Yet. That thought keeps her up well past Alya going to sleep. Is divulging the truth about her identity only a matter of time? Once they've dealt with Hawk Moth and ended his reign of terror, isn't it only fair?

She watches the moonlight drift across the ceiling for a long time before her eyes finally close.

* * *

Adrien wakes more refreshed than he has in days. It helps that he got to sleep in an actual bed, and not on hard cement. And taking a long, hot shower before bed felt like heaven, too. He looks at the clock. It's pretty late in the morning; Master Fu let him sleep. Since he didn't actually go the bed until nearly four in the morning, it's a good thing. It was too hard to fall asleep after everything that happened yesterday, and he'd been sleeping through the heat of the days anyway.

He gets out of bed, and stretches, noticing a clean set of clothes laid out for him on a chair. The checks the tag on the shirt. His size. Nice.

When he comes out of the bedroom, he finds a plate covered with a towel and a note. _If you find me gone, please help yourself to milk or brew a pot of coffee. I will make tea when I return._ Under the towel are fresh croissants and jam. His stomach growls loudly at the sight.

Plagg zips into view. "Do you think he went and got some cheese?" He races toward the kitchen and Adrien hears a muffled, "All _right_!" He's gone into the refrigerator.

"Don't eat him out of house and home!" Adrien calls, feeling guilty. "We're his guests, Plagg." It's weird being someone's guest—he's never even had a sleepover, and any time his father and he have traveled together, they've spent the night in a hotel. But he's grateful. He literally has nowhere else to go.

He's polishing off the last croissant when Master Fu walks in, carrying a bag. "Good morning, Adrien," he greets after closing the door behind him. Wayzz flies out of a pocket in his Hawaiian shirt, takes the bag from Fu and floats off out of sight. "I trust you slept well?"

Adrien swallows. "Very well, thank you. And thank you for the food, for myself and Plagg."

"Of course."

"Are you—" Adrien begins, but it's uncomfortable. He presses on, "Are you sure I can't do anything for you while I stay here?"

Fu rubs at his chin. "Can you cook?"

He doesn't think melting cheese on bread counts. "Not really."

"Clean?"

He's always had a maid to do everything. Even making his bed. "No." But he's quick to say, "I can learn. I never had anyone to teach me before."

Fu smiles, just a small lifting of the corners. "We'll see. I can't send you on errands, which would be the perfect job. I get many things delivered these days. How about…" He looks around the room, and his eyes light on a small computer tablet. "Could you show me how to use this?"

That's something he can do! "Yes!"

"Oh, good. I'm afraid more than opening it and searching for news is beyond me. And the text is always too small." He walks over to get it and place it in Adrien's hands.

"I can enlarge the text for you. And show you how to—" He stops when he sees that all of the text is in Mandarin.

"Oh, I apologize. Can it be changed to French? I think the nice girl at the electronics shop said it could…"

"Oh, no," Adrien tells him. "That's not a problem. I've studied Mandarin for several years now. It just caught me off-guard."

Fu's smile is broad now. "Then I think this task will suit just fine."

* * *

Marinette stands at Fu's door for a few minutes before knocking. She debated from breakfast (late, sleepy) through her shift at the bakery (slow-moving, sleepier), whether to come as Ladybug or Marinette. She finally decided she'd attract less attention traveling across the city in civilian form during the daytime.

She can hear muffled voices inside, so she knows someone is home. But there's still the question: should she visit Adrien as Ladybug or Marinette?

Marinette is the only person from his civilian life who knows he's run away and where he is—as a "friend of Ladybug"—but she wouldn't know about his Chat Noir identity. Ladybug knows everything about Adrien, but he doesn't know everything about her.

A question keeps echoing in her mind. Which one will Adrien be more pleased to see?

With a squaring of her shoulders, she decides to do what's safest. In the daytime, that's Marinette. At night, Ladybug. Then she knocks on the door.

Master Fu opens the door, eyes crinkled with pleasure. "Hello, Marinette," he says. "What brings you by?"

She pulls the disposable phone from her purse and dangles it in the air in front of her. "I have a delivery."

He ushers her in and closes the door. It's then that she sees Adrien sitting on the floor, legs crossed, focused on a tablet with extreme concentration. Fu explains, "He's been helping me with it."

"Adrien?" she says now that the door is closed. She waves a hand in front of his face. "Hello?"

He looks up, startled. "Oh! Marinette?" To her relief his response to seeing her is a genuine smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Ladybug thought it would be too dangerous to come over in the daylight, so..." She passes over the phone. "Here you go." Good, she hasn't stuttered or acted like a fool yet.

"Tell her thank you," he says, taking it. He flips it on. "This is really nice." As he talks, he opens the contacts. There are only two names there: Marinette and Ladybug.

"You can put in anyone you want. Anyone you trust."

His finger pauses over the screen and he looks up at her. "And that's you already, isn't it?" he asks, voice steady and sincere. "Thank you, Marinette."

Her throat closes up. Damn it, why does that gaze affect her so much? She fights to swallow, and says, "Of course. I'm your friend."

An expression flickers across his face—hope, maybe, mixed with sadness. He swallows, too. "It's good to have friends."

Her conscience pricks her then. "I have to tell you something, and it's important." She sits down opposite him. "Someone got a photo of you with Ladybug after the akuma attack. It was up on the Ladyblog for a little while."

"Oh, no..." She can tell by the look on his face that he's worried about who might have seen it.

"Alya took it down... in exchange, I had to tell her what I knew." What she knew as Marinette, that is. "But not where you are. I didn't know when I talked to her. Ladybug didn't tell me until later." She bites her lip and studies her hands. "I'm sorry."

She feels his hand on her arm, and the touch sends tingles down to the tips of her fingers. "It's not your fault someone took a picture. It was just me with Ladybug—she's helped me before, when my dad was attacked. And it was after the akuma attack?" She starts to nod, but he sits up quickly, almost dropping the tablet. "Wait, it was _after_ , right?"

She hears the unspoken question, _Did they catch me transforming?_ But to keep up appearances, she frowns and tilts her head. "Yes, it was after… She was crouched beside you, holding your hand and talking to you."

"Whew, okay. No big deal. So people know Adrien Agreste is back in Paris, I guess."

"Maybe not," she says more brightly than she feels, "it was only up for a few minutes. Fifteen, tops."

"Yeah," he agrees, smiling back. "Maybe I dodged a bullet."

She nods, and then the conversation goes dead. Every topic of conversation she wants to have with him would be easier as Ladybug. Why can't she think of anything to say?

"Uh…" she says, throwing in the towel, "I better get going." She stands and fusses at her clothing unnecessarily. "Good luck, Adrien."

He stumbles to his feet as well. "Do you really have to go?"

She didn't expect that. "Um, yeah." It's because she wants to switch to Ladybug as soon as possible and get back here, but she lies and says, "I have a shift at the bakery."

"Okay." He sounds disappointed. Her heart does a little flip. "But…"

"But what?"

"You can come back... if you want. I promise I'll be better company next time."

The loneliness that shines out of his eyes hits her hard. He thinks _he's_ the problem? She'll come prepared with a million things to say. "Okay, as often as I can." She points to the phone. "You can text me, too; that's why my number's in there."

Before she even reaches the subway station, she feels her phone buzz. _It was good to see you._ Almost immediately, another buzz. _Next time, bring some of that cake._

She practically floats home, greeting her parents airily, who give each other a knowing look. The afternoon's shift alternately floats and drags as she drifts between thinking about the time she's going to spend with Adrien—and waiting for it to be dark enough to change into Ladybug. She's itching to check for texts from Adrien on the yo-yo phone. Though she understands the need for secrecy, it's pretty inconvenient. What if Chat and Ladybug ever need to contact each other when they're not transformed?

The same pull and push of time carries her through dinner and TV watching with her parents, and then finally, they bid her goodnight. She can't get to her room fast enough.

The transformation takes her with a rush of fresh energy. This is what she's wanted all day. This is who she needs to be. She takes in a big, deep breath and lets it out with a happy sigh.

Almost immediately, her yo-yo chirps with a notification. Adrien! She swivels it open and sees a series of texts from the number she gave to him. She smiles and lifts her finger to tap the first one. Then she pauses, her finger hovering over the screen. There are a couple of messages from a number she doesn't recognize. Frowning, she taps that instead.

 _I see that your promise means nothing._

She gasps—the statement cuts her to her core. She's made a lot of promises over the years, but she's absolutely sure which one this is about. With trepidation, she taps the second message.

 _Perhaps your reputation means as little to you as well. —G.A._

Her second gasp is louder. How did Gabriel Agreste find a way to contact Ladybug?

* * *

 **I was really hoping I'd have the story to the point of Bastille Day on the actual Bastille Day (July 14). Alas, the best laid plans...**

 **I love the comments - I'm so glad people are starting to find and enjoy this story! Keep it up!**


	6. Lost and Found

**Apologies for how late this chapter is - I had the chapter done in a week, but then a couple of back-to-back trips and some major edits caused a delay.**

* * *

 _"On July 7th of this year, my son, Adrien Agreste, went missing. We had been planning a trip to Milan, and in the morning we were to leave, he was gone from his room."_ On screen, Gabriel Agreste stands before a group of microphones, flanked by Paris police. He's definitely _not_ in Milan anymore. He continues, _"There has been no word from kidnappers, no ransom demands. The only clue to his whereabouts that I have is this photo, which briefly appeared online yesterday."_

The photo that had been up on the Ladyblog appears on the screen, cropped to show only Adrien. It bears the subheading: **Agreste Heir Missing, Desperate Father Makes Plea to City. Ladybug shares a tense look with Chat Noir as they sit on a secluded roof, watching the press conference on her yo-yo screen. They don't speak, too afraid to miss a word of Gabriel's speech.**

His somber face returns. _"Citizens of Paris, if anyone has information about my lost son, or has seen a boy fitting his description, please contact the police immediately. For his sake, and mine. Thank you."_ He bows his head, the flash of photographs lighting the podium around him, and turns to leave as voices rise in the background.

An unseen reporter calls out amid the hubbub, "Why did you wait so long to contact the police, Mr. Agreste?"

He pauses, his expression darkening with pain. Then he faces the cameras again, and the crowd quiets.

Oh, no. Here it comes. Ladybug's hands clench.

 _"I had an offer of help. A..."_ His eyes close. _"...promise."_ When they open again, his gaze is hard, staring directly into the camera lens. _"Ladybug promised me she would find him and bring him back. As you can clearly see from the photo—"_ The photo reappears on the screen, this time uncropped— _"she had him in her grasp and did nothing."_ The crowd in the background begins murmuring again.

A sudden subtitle appears: **Agreste Heir Missing—Ladybug Drops the Ball?**

Ladybug's jaw tenses, her teeth grinding. How can she defend herself? Accuse one of Paris' beloved celebrities of parental neglect? She's not sure her word would be believed over his. She feels Chat Noir's gloved hand cover hers.

 _"It has been twenty-four hours now, and no contact, no explanation. I have to ask myself—is she hiding something?"_

The buzz of the crowd is loud, but not louder than her gasp. The subtitle changes to, **Agreste Heir Missing—What Does Ladybug Know?**

This is worse, much worse than she expected. She'd prepared for accusations of incompetence, for questions about why she didn't save him... but this? She turns to Chat. "How could he—I mean, who could have—?" She can't even formulate a question, her mind is spinning so fast.

"I don't know," Chat says, his tone darker than she's ever heard from him, as Adrien or Chat. Especially Chat. "Did Hawk Moth get to him?"

"Oh my god," she breathes. "Is your father..." She doesn't want to say it, but she forces it out, "...akumatized?"

"No," Chat says like a firm decision. "There are no shadows around his eyes, more than normal anyway. That's all him."

And his threatening text. Being on the receiving end of Gabriel Agreste's wrath—and him one of her former heroes—is very uncomfortable. How did Adrien deal with it for so many years without snapping sooner? She turns her eyes back toward the little screen but the press conference is over. She swivels the yo-yo shut with a click. "What now?"

Chat retracts his hand and shakes his head slowly from side-to-side. "All the options I can think of are _purr_ fectly terrible." The pun barely lightens his tone.

She knows what he means. Nothing she can think of is even worth considering.

Once she got the text from Gabriel, she messaged Adrien to meet her here as soon as possible. He arrived within minutes—he must have been ready to go the moment sunset fell—and they'd barely had a chance to talk about what the messages really meant when her yo-yo lit up with a strobing light and tuned in on the press conference. And now here they are, stunned and lost.

"I almost wish it _was_ an akuma," Chat says. "At least we'd know what to do."

"Okay," she says, letting out a breath. "Why don't we list everything we can think of, even the terrible ideas." At the crinkling of his nose, she adds, "I mean it."

"All right. Terrible idea number one: I can go back home and deal with the fallout." He sparkles his claws through the air like an exploding bomb. "Which means I might have to go to Milan after all."

"And give up Chat Noir for the rest of the summer." Just saying it out loud makes her heart hurt.

"And maybe everything."

Her eyes snap up to his. "What do you mean?"

"What if he decides that I got all my ideas because of going to school this year? That my friends are to blame? I could be looking at homeschooling again until university. And..."

She almost hates to ask. "And what?"

"What if he decides to leave Paris? Set up his base of operations somewhere else?"

Her hurting heart turns to lead in her chest. "No..." She shakes her head against the idea. "He wouldn't, not over this?"

"You don't know my father. Sometimes I think he would do _anything_ to keep control of me, anything to keep from losing me like he did my mother."

Her whole body stills at his words. "He must think he's lost you now... just like her."

Chat nods, his mouth small and tight. She can't imagine what it must feel like for either of them—Adrien wanting to control his own life, to be loved and trusted, and Gabriel, wanting to hold onto the only family he has left, no matter the cost. She thanks god again for the family she was born into.

"Okay!" she says, trying to move on, "so obviously you can't go home yet. Not until something changes." What will change, she has no idea. "What's terrible idea number two?"

"We can go to my father, and I can explain why I can't leave Paris." He touches the tips of his cat ears with a half-grimace, half-smirk. "He's already noticed my ring, though I played it off as nothing."

She's thought a lot about what it would be like to tell her own parents and the thought scares her. What if they make her give it up? After all these months, being Ladybug is like wearing a second skin, so much a part of her that peeling it away would be painful. "Do you think he would understand?"

He lets out a disbelieving laugh. "I doubt it. He's already overprotective as it is. A teenager, not even a full-grown adult, running around the city fighting evil? He'd demand the ring from me right then and there." He covers the ring with one hand unconsciously. "A perfect reason why terrible idea number two should be locked away." He mimes putting it a box and locking it with a key.

"Terrible idea three? I go to your father and tell him that my powers were about to expire, so I had to leave. When I came back for you, you were gone."

Chat purses his lips. "That's not a _terrible_ idea, is it?" He lifts his hands and moves them up and down like a scale. "It's pretty much true, except the going back for me part. You could be honest, but you just look like a failure. Then you can pretend to keep looking."

She pulls down one of his hands to overbalance the pretend weights. "And then we're reminding people that there's a time limit to our abilities."

"Yeah… I'm surprised Hawk Moth hasn't taken advantage of it," he says in a quiet voice.

It's a thought that hadn't occurred to her before. "I wonder why?"

"No idea, but we have to assume he could at any time."

She lets out a heavy breath. "So is that it for the terrible ideas?"

"I think so," he says, then adds with a wink, "No _paw_ mises, though."

She smiles and nudges him, whereas before she would have rolled her eyes. It's kind of amazing to know that this goof is the same boy she thought too perfect to touch. She shakes her head at herself. She has to remember this when it's just Marinette and Adrien.

He misinterprets the head shake, saying quickly, "Oh no, I didn't mean to bring up 'promises,' my Lady."

It hadn't even registered, but she reassures him with a hand squeeze. "No worries, Chat."

He looks down at where she's touching him, and even though he did the same thing earlier, her fingers suddenly feel so hot she tries not to jerk her hand away. She does pull back anyway, the moment gone.

"So..." he says. "Maybe we should see what Master Fu thinks? He seems to know a lot about Miraculouses and their history. Maybe something similar to this has happened in the past."

"That's a good idea." She pauses. "Did he... tell you about them?" It was probably similar to what Fu told her, but maybe there's something new.

Chat nods. "He did. He told me that there are seven Miraculouses: cat, ladybug, turtle, moth, fox, and a couple more we've never seen."

"The bee and the peacock."

"Yeah. But he mostly talked about us. How we're supposed to be, like, the team leaders when all seven are active."

"Yeah, that's what he told me, too. That we're... stronger together." She gestures in the air. "Like the yin and yang."

"My bad luck powers balance out your good luck ones."

"To make a stronger whole." He doesn't add anything else, so she wonders... did Fu show Adrien the book, the one she stole from him? It's been niggling at the back of her mind for a while now. "Did he tell you anything about the history of the Miraculous holders?"

"Just what he said the first night when you were there." She mentally breathes a sigh of relief. Then he asks, "Why? Is there something that can help us?"

She shrugs. "Not that I know of. He's been pretty mysterious about everything. Like he wants us to figure things out for ourselves." It's frustrating. She understands the need to keep secrets from the public, even their friends and family, but keeping them from each other seems counterproductive.

"Maybe... I don't know... working through our powers and conflicts makes us better problem solvers?"

"A little training wouldn't change that," she complains.

"I guess I never really questioned it." He crinkles his nose in thought. "I've always had to figure things out for myself. I mean, any time I really wanted something that my father didn't require."

She doesn't know what to say to the dull unease his words put in her stomach. He's been hiding so much behind that perfect son facade, not just the Chat Noir one.

He's the one who lightens the tone in the end. "How did you meet Master Fu, anyway?"

"Oh! Tikki told me about him."

"Tikki? That's your kwami, right?"

She forgets sometimes that he hasn't met her yet. "Yes. She was sick a few months ago, and she told me there was a healer who could help... I had no idea who he really was." How awkward she had been, trying to cover up what Tikki was, when Fu had known all along. "When Tikki told me he was the Guardian, I went back to get more information." She can't bring herself to mention the book, despite a second chance. "That's when he introduced me to Wayzz and told me the truth."

"So, let me get this straight. _Tikki_ told you about him." He growls low in his throat, the most cat-like sound she's ever heard him make. "And yet Plagg never mentioned word one about a wise, older Guardian."

He doesn't seem that mad, more frustrated. She chuckles. "Well, he does seem to mostly think with his stomach."

Chat's head snaps up at the sound of her laughter. "If he hadn't been starving, I doubt he would have even _mentioned_ Wayzz at all. So unfair. You get the thoughtful one, and I get the selfish one. Sheesh." The rueful shake of his head doesn't hide a fond smile. "When am I going to meet Tikki, anyway?"

"Oh." He isn't asking her directly, but she knows what he means. When is he going to find out her identity. How she wants to tell him… and yet she doesn't. Or she shouldn't. They're the same thing, right? Her chuckles die away. "I... I didn't think it was wise," she says, looking away and struggling to explain without hurting his feelings, "you know, with Hawk Moth knowing who you are. If he, um, ever akumatized you—"

"He'd find out who you are, too." His voice has lost all humor as well. "Then we'd both be exposed. I get it."

She sneaks a glance at his eyes, expecting to find hurt or resignation, but he's actually giving her an understanding grin. "I'm glad," she says. "It's not that I don't want to..." In fact, she's spent so much time since finding out Chat is Adrien fighting with herself about it.

"Yeah," he says, "I didn't really expect you to change your mind after you found out. You've always been protective of your identity." He nods like the subject is closed.

But it isn't. So much is different from when they first got the Miraculouses. So much is changing now. "Maybe once we've defeated Hawk Moth."

His chin lifts and his eyes gleam bright. "Then we have to defeat him."

His expression is so hopeful that she declares, "We _will_." She curls her fingers into a fist, then her fingers drop. "Once we figure out how."

Chat starts to get to his feet. "Time to get back to Master Fu. I'll meet you there—let's take a different route each time, okay?" He strikes a silly pose, his mood lifted with the promise of action. "Au re- _meow_ —"

"Wait—" she says, taking hold of his arm. He looks down at her hand, like before, but she forces herself to keep it there. She can't let this last opportunity slide or she's going to risk losing his trust. "I have to tell you something."

He doesn't ask if it can wait. Instead, he tilts his head, studying her face, and sits slowly back down. He folds his hands, patient for her sake. "Tell me."

"Okay." She swallows, pushing down her unease. "I have to make a confession. I'm the one who took the book from you."

He frowns for a second, seeming to not understand, but then his eyes clear. "My father's book?"

Now it's Marinette's turn to frown. "Your father's…?" She starts to shake her head to clear up the misunderstanding.

"The red one about superheroes, with the drawings and the weird symbols? That book?"

He got that from his father? At first, she thought he'd found it in an old bookstore and later thought maybe he got it because of Plagg, but… "Your father had it?"

"Yeah, locked up in his personal safe. I didn't mean to take it, but when I saw what was inside, I had to get a closer look. But it disappeared from my bag. I looked for it everywhere!" His shoulders drop with relief. "I thought it was gone for good."

He's not mad. He's not mad! The realization sweeps through her, releasing her from her worry. "Actually, Tikki saw it and knew it was important," she clarifies. "Then Lila stole it from you, and we got it back. Master Fu has it now."

"Lila? That must have been where she got the idea to pretend to be Volpina." He grimaces. "She was nothing but trouble."

"That's for sure."

"I'm glad you were looking out for me. No wonder you were so harsh with her. And if Master Fu has it, maybe he can explain some of it to me. I know I saw Volpina, Ladybug, and Hawk Moth, and something that might have been Chat Noir."

She nods. She's been waiting to hear about it, too, but Fu insisted it was a story for both of them. So now that Adrien knows what happened with the book, maybe they can get some answers. But, still… "How do you think your father—?"

Suddenly, there's a loud whirring sound, and a gust of wind knocks her back. A lone figure hovers into view, rising above the edge of the roof. He's supported by several tiny rotary blades like mini-helicopters. It's deafening. "Ah, Ladybug and Chat Noir. I've found you."

* * *

The man's voice echoes as if coming from a loudspeaker. His shadowed eyes mark him as another akumatized villain. It's no one she knows, just like the girl from the other day; Hawk Moth is branching out now that school's not in session.

She braces herself with her hands and checks to see if Chat is all right. He's moved into a crouch, ready to leap into action. "Who are you!?" he shouts, though the words are garbled by the incredible noise.

"I am Tracker. I can find anyone, anywhere. Especially you two." He smiles, and his teeth gleam white against blackened lips. He lifts a pistol of some kind, and fires it at Chat.

Chat leaps away from the small projectiles at the same time she does. "Chat!" she calls, worried. She hooks her yo-yo on an exhaust pipe and flies upward. He rolls to his feet and gives her a thumbs up. Not hit.

She retracts her yo-yo and shoots it toward the pistol. At the last second, Tracker floats up, and the yo-yo zings past without making contact. She curses to herself. The pistol is probably not where the akuma lives, but it's too dark to see Tracker's outfit well. He's wearing some sort of flight suit and goggles, along with a pack strapped to his back bearing the largest of the rotors.

Chat tumbles across the roof, snatching up one of the tiny projectiles. Then he leaps backward toward another building, and her yo-yo buzzes with a frantic call. _"Tracker's pistol shoots little black blobs, that… disintegrate when you touch them. I don't know what they are. Get out of range so we can formulate a plan!"_

"Got it." She swings off in the direction Chat went, but she doesn't see him. She can't call out for him, either—why make it easier for Tracker to find them? She takes a quick turn around a corner and slips into a hidden alcove. The helicopter sound seems like it's getting farther away. Good. She's lost him, for now.

She calls Chat back. On screen, his face is tight with exertion. The buzzing is very loud. "Where are you?"

 _"Heading for the river! I can't shake him!"_ Behind him, Tracker fires again, and the view shifts wildly as Chat dodges.

"I'll be there as soon as I can!" She shuts down the screen to use the yo-yo to swing again. She's much faster that way. Using the whirring sound as a directional guide, she pushes herself to lengthen every arc. People are really starting to notice now—how could they miss a human helicopter chase?

Then she sees them ahead. Tracker is right on Chat's heels; no matter which way Chat moves, he can easily swerve around rooftops and alter his altitude. She has to stop him and whatever those projectiles are.

Just a little closer...

Now!

She springs forward as hard as she can, landing on the edge of a roof, then throws her yo-yo to wrap around Tracker's legs. With a yell of alarm, he flutters backward, giving Chat just the extra distance to pull ahead. Tracker whips his head back to give her an evil look and then yanks her forward off the roof.

She yelps, narrowly avoiding a tree and a very heavy lamppost, and finds herself dangling below him while he continues the pursuit.

After a few close calls—the worst with a city bus!—she realizes she's going to have to pull back the yo-yo. It's lucky charm time. She can't use it wrapped around Tracker's legs!

She waits until they're nearly to the Seine to release, and the sudden unraveling knocks him off-kilter for a moment. Ahead, Chat is pelting across the street and directly toward the water. Is he—is he going to dive in?

It's a pretty great idea, but don't cats hate water? She chuckles, of course Chat isn't a literal cat, but she forgets that sometimes. Maybe Adrien is a great swimmer. She shoves the more-detailed-than-necessary image of Adrien in a swimsuit out of her head before it can burrow in too deeply.

He leaps to the railing on the edge of the boardwalk, and then hits the air, his body curving into a perfect dive. Wow. She kicks the swimmer image out again. Chat breaks the water with hardly a splash.

Tracker hovers over the water for a few minutes, deciding how to proceed. Then he slowly moves downstream, his eyes searching. Which is great for his attention diverted from her, she tosses her yo-yo up with a shout of, "Lucky Charm!"

It comes back down in a dome shape. Sort of like an umbrella without the shaft. She pokes at it, the material is very flexible.

"What...?" Does she float on it in the river? Does she use it as a shield to block the black blobs from the pistol? Her eyes fly around the area as she figures out a plan.

Then she notices the bubbles where Chat must be floating, and she has it. "Tracker!" she calls, several meters away from the bubbles. "Do your worst. I'll protect him!" She spreads her arms wide, as if she's protecting that stretch of water.

Tracker sees her and sends a spray of projectiles in her direction. She holds the dome in front of her like a shield. "Told you!" she taunts.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Chat climb out of the water. He creeps forward on silent paws.

Tracker doesn't notice. His eyes narrow and he flies closer to Ladybug. "Oh, you are very annoying, little bug." He fires another volley at her with a jerk of his wrist. She ducks inside the dome and the blobs splat all over it. Then before he can react, she pulls back on the inside of the dome, and the material springs forward. The blobs fly back toward him, and he flinches, covering his face with his arm.

With perfect timing, Chat yells, "Cataclysm!" and leaps up to slash the main rotor. The entire assembly crumbles into dust, and Tracker lands hard on his butt on the pavement.

Chat snatches the pistol from his hands, and Ladybug jumps up to pull the goggles from his face. Before Chat can destroy the weapon, she twists the goggles and breaks them in half. As she thought, there's the akuma.

A minute or two later, the akuma is cleansed, the Lucky Charm has reversed the damage, the villain is just a confused young man in a university sweatshirt, and everything is back to normal. Except...

Chat looks down at the pistol in his hands. "Why didn't this disappear with his costume?"

Ladybug frowns, but a beep at her ear reminds her that she needs to be going. "I don't know. Can you get that to—" She cuts off, not wanting to say the name aloud in public. "To our mutual friend? Maybe he can make sense of it. I gotta—"

She points off in the distance, and he nods. "Me too. See you there."

As she runs, she wonders and worries about the implications. Tracker was intensely interested in Chat Noir alone.

* * *

 **I love comments, questions, speculation, whatever! They are are always appreciated.**


	7. Realizations

Chat leaps from rooftop to rooftop, letting his instincts chart an erratic path across the city. When he pauses to catch his breath, his lips curl up in a crooked smile. He's two blocks away from Master Fu's. Is it close enough to transform and go the rest of the distance as Adrien? Or should he stay in Chat-form until he's there?

Which one is safer, when Hawk Moth knows about both?

He makes a quick decision. When he left, he was in Chat-form—he should come back as Adrien to blur the trail. Hopping down to the back of a dark alley, he transforms into his now-comfortable hoodie and grubby jeans. His father's stylist would be pitching a fit right now if he saw him.

Once he's inside the apartment, he's overwhelmed with such a feeling of safety that he tumbles into the cushions, boneless. Plagg zips off toward the kitchen.

"Are you all right, Adrien?" Fu's voice is thick with concern.

"What?" Adrien says, the sound muffled. He turns his head to see Fu hovering over him. "I'm fine. I mean, I'm not hurt, anyway."

A small frown crosses his face, and then he settles cross-legged beside Adrien. "Tell me what happened."

Adrien glances at the door. Ladybug should be here any moment. But he can at least get started.

Fu listens patiently to the tale of his father's press conference and the run-in with Tracker, nodding or frowning at the appropriate places, but not commenting. He checks his phone a couple of times, both to see the time and check for messages from Ladybug. With every check the unease in his stomach grows. Nothing. Did something happen? Is she okay?

"It was really weird how it didn't disappear," Adrien says when he pulls out the odd pistol Tracker used. "It shoots little black blobs, but I don't know what they do, other than disintegrate."

Fu regards it gravely for a moment, then gestures to the pistol. "May I?"

"Please."

Adrien watches as Fu carefully turns the pistol in his hands, peering into the barrel and pulling on the safety. Then in a rush, he takes aim at the wall and fires. Adrien jumps.

Calmly, Fu walks over to the black blot left on the wall, and examines the smear closely, all without touching it. He retrieves a glass and a small knife from the kitchen and scrapes it off. "It's difficult to tell without analyzing it further, but I believe the substance is non-magical." Before Adrien can get out a "What do you think—?" Fu continues, "I don't know what its purpose might be, either." He points at Adrien's hand. "Your fingers feel fine?"

Adrien rubs them together, testing them. "Yes. But I was wearing the suit when I touched it. I think it protected me."

Fu nods. "Indeed." He covers the glass with a lid and sets it on the counter. "If its effect is magical, it should be safe here under my shield. If not… I will make inquiries in the meantime."

"Okay." Adrien glances again at his phone. Nothing. He can't wait any longer. He dials the number Ladybug gave him.

Luckily, she answers right away. _"Adrien? Did you make it all right?"_ The creases between her eyebrows through the mask are deep with worry. He can see the lights of Paris behind her, but he can't really tell where she is.

"Yes. I'm fine. Are you okay? Why aren't you here?" He winces at the whine in his voice. But he's worried about her, too. He won't apologize for that.

 _"I…"_ She bites the side of her lip and her gaze skitters away from the screen. _"I was on my way… and then I realized. I can't be seen with you, Adrien. Not until all of this is over."_

"What?" he asks, his heart dropping through the floor. She doesn't want to see him. What did he do? Is plain-old-Adrien not enough for her? But Chat Noir wasn't either…

 _"After that press conference, it's just too dangerous. If we're seen together, then your father will know I'm helping you. I don't even want to think about what he'd do…"_

"Oh…" he says, realizing what she means. "Oh! I totally agree!" His body floods with relief. Then the relief washes away just as suddenly. "I'll only be able to see you as Chat Noir, then."

She nods. _"Like before."_ He doesn't think he's imagining the disappointment in her voice. It lifts his spirits a little. She continues, _"Until we defeat Hawk Moth."_

His spirits soar, then. She really is going to tell him who she is. The day can't come soon enough. "I'm holding you to that, Bug," he teases.

She ducks her head behind her hands, embarrassed. _"Okay."_

It's so cute—and not very Ladybug-like at all. Not that Ladybug isn't cute! She's the cutest! But this awkward side is a new thing that's come out since she found out who he was. Maybe a side belonging to the girl behind the mask.

 _"Did you ask him about the book?"_ she says when she's recovered.

"No, I didn't have a chance ye—" he says as he's turning back to Master Fu. His words die as he sees Fu place the book on the table in front of him. But he doesn't stop there. Beside it, already resting on the table, is a black octagonal box, marked in red with the same stylized Chinese symbols as the book. "What is that?" he asks, tilting the phone so that Ladybug can see as well.

Ladybug's mouth makes a small 'o' of wonderment. _"I haven't seen that before."_

"This is where I keep the Miraculouses, when they are not in use."

 _"Oh!"_ Ladybug exclaims. _"My earrings came in a small version of that box."_

His ring had, too, but he'd forgotten until now. "So…" Adrien points to the box. "The others are in there?"

Fu gives him an enigmatic smile and then opens the box with a smooth gesture. "Not all of them."

Adrien peers more closely at the lid. "Is that the symbol for… 'Prosperity'?"

Fu grins, more pleased than Adrien's seen him so far. "It is." He gently lifts the lid, revealing a hexagon sectioned off into brightly-colored slots. In the center is a yin-yang circle.

 _"Oh, wow!"_ Ladybug exclaims. _"Is that where our Miraculouses were kept before you gave them to us?"_ Adrien's surprised that she hasn't seen it yet, but secretly pleased. He's not playing catch up for once. _"Adrien, can you bring the screen closer?_

He does, drifting it around the chest slowly so she can get a good look. It gives him a chance to do the same, noticing the empty slots where the cat ring, ladybug earrings, turtle bracelet and the moth item. A hair comb marked with a bee and a necklace with a foxtail are resting in their places. Lila's necklace was very close—especially considering it was a fake. "Is the Moth Miraculous a—?"

 _"—a pin?_ " Ladybug finishes.

"Yes," Fu says, not elaborating.

There's one more empty slot, the one for the peacock. He expected it to be filled, based on the little he heard. Ladybug must be wondering the same thing, because she says in a quiet voice, _"Was the Peacock Miraculous lost with… with the user?"_

Adrien lifts his head to look at Fu, only to find him staring back calmly. So calm, it's unnerving. Without taking his eyes off Adrien, he says, "I have not seen it in many years."

Adrien starts to frown and then a realization blasts through him. "I... have." He has! In all his confusion over the book, he'd completely put it out of his mind.

Ladybug's face screws up in confusion. _"You have?"_

"It's..." He shakes his head, overwhelmed now with speculation and worry. "...in my father's hidden safe. Where I found the book."

Fu's eyes close as if he's finally received confirmation of something he'd already guessed.

It turns the speculation into certainty. "No..."

 _"Oh no, Adrien..."_ He only has time to see Ladybug's horrified face before his hand goes limp, the phone clattering to the table. _"Adrien? Adrien!"_ Ladybug calls from the screen but he doesn't really hear her anymore. He can't breathe. He can't think straight, his mind lost in a spiral of knowledge and denial and terror and memories that suddenly make horrible sense.

His father had the book, his father has the peacock Miraculous, had both of them hidden away behind the portrait of his mother because...

His mind fights against finishing the thought but he forces it out.

 _Because his father is Hawk Moth._

His father is the one who lost his partner, the Peacock. His father is one whose despair turned him from heroics to evil. His father is the one turning all of their friends into akumatized villains in order to gain the combined power of their Miraculouses. His father is the one who has been chasing him across the city both as Adrien and Chat Noir.

A second, smaller wave of realization hits him next. His father knows who he is.

All this time, he's been living under the same roof as his greatest enemy, never knowing. He's never seen his father with a moth pin. Does he hide it somewhere? And what about the time Jackady was controlling him? Was it all an act? Did he let himself be controlled to throw off suspicion?

He couldn't have known that Adrien is Chat Noir until their battle with Mirror of Truth revealed it. How did he feel, finding out that his _son_ has been the one to foil his plans again and again? He must be filled with anger.

Adrien's heart fills, too, but not with anger. With resolve.

He's always felt so powerless against his father, only able to fight back in small ways, like with school. Now he can fight with everything he has, with Ladybug by his side. They have to defeat him and, in a twist of fate, be the ones to take _his_ Miraculous from him.

Yes. His fingers curl into a fist.

It's then that he hears Fu and Ladybug's voices again, speaking quietly. Ladybug in a worried whisper and Fu in reassuring tones. Ladybug's words bring him back to the present. _"He must be in shock..._

But instead of responding to that, he pierces Fu with a cutting question. "How long have you known?"

"That he is Hawk Moth? Or that he kept the peacock Miraculous?"

Adrien blinks at the placidity of Fu's expression. As if all of this is no big deal, just another day in the life of a Miraculous user. Instead of the complete upending of Adrien's life. "Does it matter?" he asks, and suddenly a tide of anger he wasn't feeling before threatens to burst forth. "Either one! How could you choose me for Chat Noir knowing you were pitting father against son!"

 _"Exactly!"_ He glances at Ladybug on the screen and her frown of righteous indignation on his behalf means everything. _"Is there some sort of family legacy thing involved? Am I your great-granddaughter and you're keeping that a secret, too?"_

"No, no." Fu lifts his hands to placate them, but his face is grave. "I once worked closely with Gabriel, when he was young and hopeful, and filled with dreams for the future. When he cared more for others than he did for himself. When he was like you." He pauses for a moment, letting that sink in. "I still remember well what a force for good he was, he and your mother. I like to remember him that way, instead of what he has become."

Adrien shakes his head against Fu's words. "That's all fine and good, but now he's terrorizing the city—!"

"Adrien." Fu interrupts, voice low and serious. "He used to have so much love in his heart. If anyone can help him remember that… it's you."

The fire burns out of him in an instant, leaving only ash. He tries to form words, and when he finally does, they creak out. "Then you chose wrong. My father doesn't love anything except control."

He hears Ladybug's tearful intake of breath, and then there's silence.

As he sits there, he stares sightlessly toward the empty Moth and Peacock slots. What really happened to his mother? Were they heroes when he was born? Was she hurt and unable to continue? Did she quit and disappear? Adrien doesn't even know if she's still alive, just that she's gone and his father is a completely different person now.

He's wondered before, and the thought comes back again—would losing Ladybug do the same to him?

No. He's had his heart broken before, when he lost his mother. He might be shattered, but he'd never be evil. And that's only one of the ways Adrien is not his father's clone. His head clears in an instant. Tapping the cover of the book beside the chest with a finger, he asks, "Can you translate this?"

"I can. But it is thirsty work. I will put water on." Fu rises and goes into the kitchen.

 _"Adrien…"_ Ladybug says. _"Are you okay?"_

He starts to tell her yes, but then decides there's no reason to hide it. "No." He doesn't know if he will ever be okay again. "But if Fu can translate that book for us, maybe we find a way to defeat Hawk Moth."

And that's more important.

* * *

 **As always, I love your comments. They make my day.**


	8. The Butterfly Effect

Marinette is very tired the next morning. Or really, very tired at nearly noon—her lovely parents let her sleep in again. She and Adrien had stayed up until the early hours talking and studying the book with its information on Hawk Moth. So much of it they already knew—his ability to sense emotions, to speak telepathically to those he controlled, to imbue his butterflies with powers that match the desires of the affected.

But what's new to Marinette is Hawk Moth's outfit, his cane and his Miraculous. She spends a lot of time studying it and decides he must not look like this in the present day. The Ladybugs in the book look very little like Marinette does in costume, other than being red with black spots—and from all different eras and places: Egypt, Rome, Africa, even France in the 1400s. It's the same with Chat Noir. If Hawk Moth's costume now looks similar to theirs, then he could have skin-tight spandex and wings.

She makes a face. Gabriel Agreste in skin-tight spandex is an image she doesn't need haunting her. Instead she makes an effort to picture his usual suit and cravat with a butterfly theme.

What purpose does the cane have? They talked about that a lot. In the book, it shows Chat's staff as a weapon, and Ladybug's yo-yo as both weapon and Lucky Charm. But there's nothing about all the other powers they have now: communication, scanning, and the like.

"The Miraculous has always changed with the times, and provided its users with whatever they needed," Master Fu said. "Therefore in your possession, the staff and yo-yo function like smartphones."

"Or X-Ray scanners," Adrien put in.

"And of course, cleansing the akumas." She frowned. "Why isn't that mentioned?"

Fu pressed his lips together. "Because that is what is needed… in this time," he said, shooting a quick glance at Adrien. But Adrien's grim face told her he had already come to the same conclusion: Hawk Moth is using his powers for evil this go around.

Marinette's worried that the book is not going to be enough to help them. Adrien mentioned specifically that he'd seen his father studying the book, open to the page on Ladybug. What was he trying to discover about her powers? As far as she can tell, there isn't much to learn there that he didn't already know. They've at least got that going for them.

But then she has a thought that didn't occur to her before. If their Miraculouses provide what _they_ need for this day and age, what is Hawk Moth's providing to him?

* * *

"Are you sure? It's Bastille Day," she asks one more time. When she pictured this day a week ago, she thought she'd be spending it with friends and family, watching the parade during the day, and the fireworks at night. Not dealing with the toughest challenge of her short career as Ladybug.

"Of course, Marinette. I know I always needed at _least_ a week to myself after school got out for the summer. It'll be good for you to get out of the house. We can celebrate together this evening." Her mother never brings up Adrien's disappearance, the kindness shining out of her eyes. Marinette wonders how much she really knows the depth of her feelings for Adrien. Waving with a hand to shoo Marinette out, her mother says, "Go, go. There'll be plenty of time for you to help out around here later."

She'd grabs a quite a few items and puts them in a box. After a moment she adds a couple of mini quiches for Plagg and a cookie for Tikki. She expects questions, _"All of that for a picnic in the park?"_ but to her surprise her mom suggests a few bottles of water and some jam as well. She ends up carrying it all in a paper shopping bag.

Tikki pokes her head out of her purse after they're well away. "Are we going to see Plagg and Wayzz?"

Marinette laughs. "And Adrien."

"Oh, good!"

She smiles, tilting her head. "How can you visit them if you have to stay hidden? Adrien still doesn't know my secret identity."

Tikki's eyes squint into happy half-moons. "We'll find a way."

"You've missed them, haven't you?"

Tikki's eyes go soft and thoughtful. "It has been a while, yes."

For thousands of years, Tikki has had to wait between Miraculous users, and then wait for those users to reveal themselves to each other. How many times had it never happened at all? Marinette is quiet the rest of the journey.

At the top of the stairs at the Metro station, she stumbles to a stop. The person in front of her has stopped as well, and all the people nearby. A few children point and cry out with delight. They are all looking up at the sky, at thousands of fluttering white petals floating through the air.

No. Not petals. _Butterflies_.

Marinette's throat seizes up. Hawk Moth. It has to be.

This can't be natural, can it? She's never noticed any sort of mass migration come through Paris before. She immediately gets on her phone to check the city news. _"Residents of the 13th Arrondissement are enjoying an unusual phenomenon this Bastille Day. A rare butterfly migration!"_ The reporter gestures around her with wonder. _"We rarely see so many butterflies come through the city at one time. Experts from AgroParisTech are trying to determine the exact species."_ Video of various types of white butterflies scroll across the screen.

She purses her lips. Maybe it is a natural phenomenon… but her gut tells her differently. She types a message to Adrien. _Turn on the news. Butterfly infestation._ Her finger lifts to press send before she realizes she can't. Marinette shouldn't know why the butterflies are bad news! She deletes the message and pulls out the disposable that 'Ladybug' uses during the day to send it instead. Another one to Master Fu, just to cover her bases.

While she walks, she tries to remain calm. If Hawk Moth can sense emotion—can he sense her fear? Fear in the midst of delight and wonder must stand out, right? She can't walk too fast or that might stand out, too.

The closer she gets to Master Fu's apartment, the thicker the butterflies congregate in the air. Once she's a block away, they thin out, repelled by something, almost in the shape of a dome. Master Fu's shield. What will the scientists at the university make of that?

She knows what Hawk Moth will make of that. Adrien is somewhere inside. She breaks into a run.

As she dashes around a corner, she considers transforming into Ladybug. Hawk Moth already has a general location, right? They can get away faster if they're both in uniform. But she has no idea how closely he's watching this area, so she doesn't risk it. Yet.

Her Ladybug phone pings. She pulls it out to read as she runs. _Master Fu says get here ASAP. I'll be *kitted* out!_

Adrien must be taking this pretty well if he's making puns in the midst of danger. Then again, that's always been Chat's M.O. Who is Adrien. She shakes her head. It's still hard to reconcile that in her mind.

But if she's supposed to appear as Ladybug, then Ladybug it is. She ducks around a corner and comes out again with the spots on. As much as she hates it, she leaves the bakery bag behind. No telling who might recognize her because of it! Her stomach growls in protest as she puts on more speed.

Arriving with a leap, she raps smartly on the door. Chat opens it immediately. "What's the plan?" he asks.

The absolute assurance that she'll know what to do shining from his eyes pierces her heart—because she has absolutely no idea. "We'll figure it out," she tells him decisively.

"Take care, my heroes!" Master Fu calls from behind Chat.

She looks over Chat's shoulder to see him sitting calmly on the mats. "Are you going to be okay? Your shield looks like a visual target from the outside..."

"I will be fine. Once the two of you are gone, the butterflies should follow."

She and Chat share a nervous glance. He actually swallows. "But still. Hawk Moth may come after you, too, for hiding him."

Fu nods, eyes closing. "I have hidden this long. And I can protect myself, young Ladybug," he says, lifting his braceleted wrist. His eyes open again, and he pierces her with a fierce look. "Now go."

She grabs Chat around the waist, ignoring their closeness—it never used to bother her before she knew his identity—and zooms off toward the roof.

Once they're on the rooftops she lets go. Pelting in tandem across the tiles, she needs every drop of her strength to help her move forward. The tense days are building up, compounding her exhaustion. Sweat prickles her brow, owing nothing to the summer wind, warm and humid. Beside her, Chat runs just as hard, a grim determination making the lines of his face hard beneath the mask.

She risks a look behind her. There it is—the swarm of white moving toward them like a freak storm cloud. They're staying ahead of it. Just.

"Where are we going?" Chat asks in the middle of a leap. He's been following her lead.

"As far away as we can!" She still doesn't know exactly where to go. But they definitely have to go far from home, school, Master Fu, anywhere dangerous to the people close to them. He nods and doesn't ask again.

Neither of them speak for a while, testing the limits of their magic-enhanced speed and agility, running so fast that her lungs burn and her legs ache. Finally, she skids to a stop, catching her yo-yo on a pipe to keep from falling over the edge. She's that tired.

Chat leans over, letting out great heaving breaths, bracing his hands on his knees. "What... now... my lady...?"

She looks into the distance. The swarm is farther away than it was, but it's still heading their way. "I... don't know. I'm sorry. I just don't know." She knows how to deal with an akuma, but this? This is a whole different level.

Something catches her eye down at street-level. It's the sun, reflecting off a motorcyclist's helmet. The traffic is pretty heavy today, Parisians heading off for a long Independence Holiday. Maybe...

She jumps down, trusting Chat will follow, and lands lightly on the top of a large truck. Then she crawls between the cab and the trailer, and Chat joins her. "We'll be out of sight here, and maybe move a little faster."

"Good idea," he says, but he looks worried and out of his depth.

She places a gentle hand on his shoulder. "We'll get away, Ad—" She stops herself. That look had been more Adrien than Chat. "—Chat. I know we will."

They ride along for several blocks, including a few twists and turns. She gives Chat a signal and he crawls up to check, his ears and nose just popping above the edge. He drops back down immediately. "Still on our tail."

"Chat!" she chides.

He frowns for a second and then smiles wide. "I didn't mean to make a pun that time, but I guess I'm just that awesome!"

She lets out a laugh. He's so cute and proud of himself. But the humor she feels floats away at the thought of a neverending flight from these butterflies. "We have to throw them off the trail somehow."

The truck comes to a stop and they jump down.

She turns toward the sinister cloud, closing in again. "How are they following us? It can't be line of sight."

"I suspect…" Chat lifts his hand, stretching out the fingers. "Remember Tracker's little blobs?"

"It dissolved into your suit, didn't it?" But he can't de-transform and go about as Adrien in public, not with his face plastered everywhere!

She begins to notice a few shouts of recognition around them. "Chat Noir! Ladybug!" These calls are common when they're working and they typically ignore them.

But there's a different tinge to the sound—instead of astonishment and wonder it's something else. "Ladybug!"

She turns toward the voice, so filled with accusation that she flinches.

The man stands in front of his shop pointing a finger toward her and scowling. "Where is that Agreste boy? His disappearance is on you!" Phones come out all over the gathering crowd. His face is red, but its ruddiness is from the heat, not Hawk Moth's control. This is just an average Paris citizen—he really feels this way! And she knows she's in the right, that she's protecting Adrien. But losing the city's trust—even one person—is a crushing blow.

Chat jumps in front of her, pointing the accusing finger right back at the shopkeeper. "Ladybug has protected this city with her very life since she first appeared!" He takes a step forward, and the man's eyes go wide. "You need to have faith that she's doing everything she can!"

The shopkeeper's mouth opens and closes a couple of times. "Oh. Okay—"

Chat claps his hands together. "Great! Then we need your help, sir!"

Ladybug, so overcome with emotion over Chat's defense of her, snaps to attention. Help? Then she sees what the man's business actually is—a costume shop. With Ladybug and Chat Noir costumes displayed prominently in the window.

Chat marches inside, ushering Ladybug ahead of him. He turns back to the crowd. "Now go back about your business. We've got this!"

Once the door is closed, Chat snaps the deadbolt shut. Behind the counter is a woman, who reaches across it to whap the shopkeeper on the arm when he's in reach. "Jean-Paul, shame on you! You know how much Brigitte looks up to Ladybug!"

It's then that Ladybug sees the little girl, blonde head barely reaching the counter. Her eyes are wide and round, and she clutches a Ladybug doll in her arms.

"Louise, I just—"

She whaps him again, then turns back to them. "What do you need?"

"Your largest Ladybug costume, please!"

Now it's Ladybug's mouth that opens and closes a few times.

Louise rubs her chin, considering him. "Not our largest size. It would hang on you."

Chat's eyebrows rise. "Oh?"

We sell a wide range of sizes—from babies to extra extra extra large!" She smiles wide at Ladybug with pride. "It is our best seller, among all genders."

Chat's smile matches Louise's, and Ladybug feels the full force of both of them. "As it should be," he says. "Give me the size that will fit me."

Louise bustles from around the counter, taking one from the rack and placing it in his hands. "Changing rooms are back there." With a grateful nod, he jogs to the back.

"Thank you," Ladybug tells them, checking out the window to see how close the butterflies are now. Closer. Much closer. "We can't pay you now, but I promise—"

"Oh, please, no," Louise assures her. "What other shop can boast that they outfitted Paris' heroes themselves?"

A minute later, Adrien pops out, decked head-to-toe in red and black. "Ta-da!"

"That was fast," she says, unnecessarily. He's got years of experiences with quick changes for the runway.

The costume doesn't fit perfectly, here and there loose or too tight for his lean muscles, but it does a pretty decent job. The mask obscures Adrien's identity enough that she feels safe taking him out on the street again.

And it's actually cute on him. He notices her regard and saunters toward her. "How do I look?"

Before she can answer, she hears a dry voice at her ear. "He looks ridiculous, doesn't he?" Plagg, hiding under one of her pigtails.

Adrian ignores his kwami and strikes a pose. "I might try wearing this more often. It's very comfortable."

"And striking," Louise says.

"It's something, for sure." But Ladybug can't keep the fondness from her tone. "We have to go. They're almost here."

With a two-finger salute to the shopkeepers and their giggling daughter, Chat races for the door, Ladybug close behind.

"I think Brigitte is a new Chat fan," Ladybug says, gesturing for Adrien to hop on her back.

"No, trust me, once a Ladybug fan, always a Ladybug fan. It's a lifestyle."

She just shakes her head and starts to swing. She can usually slough off the flattery, but it's getting harder and harder. Now that she knows both sides of him, everything is melting into an indistinguishable whole. And back there, on the street... "Chat? Adrien?"

"Yes, my Lady?"

"Thank you for standing up for me."

"Of course. That's part of my job. Having my partner's back, no matter what." He shifts. "And this time, literally." She can feel his grin against the back of her neck.

They reach the outskirts of town, the buildings spaced out more as they reach the suburbs. She doesn't turn to look behind them, every bit of focus on moving out of range.

But Adrien can. "They're still following us."

Frustration almost overwhelms her for a moment, but she keeps going. "Maybe the substance soaked into the skin."

"Or the butterflies are locked onto the Miraculous." He pauses and then says unsteadily, "Have you ever wondered why most akumas attack close by... even when we're in civilian clothes? Tracker's goo just made it more accurate."

He's right. But had she ever noticed it? Or had she chalked it up to coincidence? "If that's true, we're out of luck." So much for Lucky Ladybugs.

"Never, my Lady." There's another pause. "I could get rid of the ring."

Her swing hitches, and Plagg grips her hair so tightly it pulls at her scalp. "No, Adrien. You can't consider it! If you throw it away, you might as well place it in Hawk Moth's waiting hand."

"But—"

"No. We'll make a stand. Stop them in their tracks. Hawk Moth will not have you." She looks ahead—one of the northern switchbacks of the river Seine lies within a few hundred meters. She drops to the ground and stands at the river's edge, swiveling to face their pursuers. Adrien climbs off her back and lifts his fists to fight. In the distance, a news helicopter is pacing the butterfly cloud. Luckily everyone is staying well back.

When the swarm is close enough to see individual wings, she invokes Lucky Charm with a cry. The yo-yo falls from the sky, transforming into a large net. She grins grimly. She knows exactly what to do with this.

With a leap and a mighty swing, she sweeps the swarm into the net and downward, plunging it into the water. The few she misses continue their inexorable journey toward them. Adrien swats at them with his fists, Ladybug kicks at them while holding the net under the water, even Plagg gets into the act. Each one poofs into dust when struck. The butterflies in the water push against her and it takes all her strength to hold it down.

Then suddenly there's no more weight.

Are they gone?

Slowly, the magical butterflies rise from the water unharmed. She tries for another swing, but this time they evade her, rising over her head and surrounding—

"Adrien!" she screams her voice lost in the now deafening helicopter buzz.

"Ladybug!" he shouts back, desperately struggling. But there are too many! He pulls at his Ladybug costume glove and pulls something from his finger. "Take it!"

His Miraculous launches into the air.

Plagg swirls into it with a desp, turning the ring from silver to black and green.

She jumps for it, calling on every trick she's ever learned. A butterfly dives for it, closes its legs around the metal…

And she crushes it into her palm. Grey motes of dust float from between her fingers, but she has the ring, hard and cold in her hand.

But Adrien is gone. All that is left of the butterfly swarm flashes in a sliver of light. Then nothing.

Ladybug sinks to her knees right there on the river bank, clutching the ring to her chest.


	9. Safekeeping

It's not the dim light filtering through his eyelids, or the cold against his skin, or the hard tile floor against his hip that finally wakes Adrien up. It's the fluttering of many tiny wings. In fact, he jerks awake as one brushes his cheek, fully conscious in a rush.

Blinking at his surroundings, he doesn't even know where he is, the room—if he can call it that—is dark, just enough light to see. And what he can see is obscured by those butterflies. Every rustle sends a shiver across his skin.

He sits up carefully, testing his limbs. Nothing hurts. Nothing, that is, except the dull fear forming a knot in his stomach. He's still wearing the Ladybug costume and mask, so maybe he hasn't been here long. He rubs at his bare finger. It feels odd without the Miraculous there. So many times he'd twirled it idly in thought or as a nervous habit—and now it's gone. Gone with Ladybug, but now he wishes he had it. He could transform and escape.

No. His ring would be long gone.

Adrien gets to his feet, keeping his eyes half-closed against the press of butterflies that swoop and dance across his vision. He walks, one slow foot in front of the other, until he reaches a wall, curved upward in the shape of a dome. How big is it? He walks along it for ten paces, twenty, but he still can't tell.

Is he all alone here? Except for the butterflies? After chasing him across the city, he's just been left... alone?

"Hawk Moth?" he tries, his voice barely above a whisper. He doesn't say the other name. _Father_.

There's no answer but more fluttering.

He tries a little louder, his voice creaking out as he tries to control his fear. "Hawk Moth. You've got me. Finally. What do you want?"

The fluttering gets louder off to his right, and a voice that is all-too-familiar says, "I want you."

Adrien turns... and sees the eyes shining out of the cloud of wings before he makes out the rest of the face and body. Cold eyes, cruel eyes. Then he takes a final step forward, and Adrien can see it all in the gloom. The grey face mask and impeccable suit, the butterfly pin and cane.

The cane between his gloved hands begins to glow with ethereal light, first revealing the space around Hawk Moth, then the whole room. It _is_ a dome, about the size of a floor of a large apartment, maybe the floor of a building. He only takes a moment to scan his surroundings, though, focusing on his kidnapper's face.

It is his father, and it isn't. The smug smile touching his lips is familiar—but it never seemed outright cruel before. The ramrod-straight posture, too—he seems more of an automaton than a real man.

Is it possible they're mistaken?

"Chat Noir," Hawk Moth says, taking a step closer. "Or perhaps without your Miraculous, I should call you _Adrien_."

Adrien can't help the frisson of fear that cascades from head to toe at hearing his name in that mouth. Because now he's ninety-five percent sure. No one says his name in that exact way except…

He collects himself. Fear isn't going to get him anywhere. He's faced Hawk Moth's puppets dozens of times before and won. He's faced up to his _father_ before and won. He slowly removes the fake Ladybug mask from his eyes and tilts his chin defiantly.

"With or without your Miraculous..." He pauses, locking eyes with the man. "...I should be calling you _Father_."

Hawk Moth's nostrils flare and his eyes widen. Maybe Adrien should have waited, keeping this knowledge secret to use as leverage, but it's so satisfying to surprise him that Adrien doesn't care.

Adrien expects an explosion of anger, or a sneering denial… anything except the complete stillness that overtakes Hawk Moth. His eyes don't blink. He almost seems to stare through Adrien. And then, after several long moments he draws in a heavy breath and lets it out. "Adrien," he says, so low it's barely audible over the noise of the wings.

His gloved hand closes over the Miraculous pinned to his cravat. He murmurs something under his breath and suddenly there's a swirl of purple magic that moves from heel to head, leaving nothing but—

Father.

He's wearing his usual suit underneath, perfect creases, and tasteful splashes of color. And not a hair out of place. Is he ashamed of the mess of a model son that stands before him?

His kwami, Nooroo, floats away out of sight, a blur of lavender. Plagg would have already asked for cheese or made a smart remark. Nooroo must know this is not the time to get involved.

Adrien waits for his father to say something, anything. He knows Adrien's deepest secret now, and Adrien knows his. But he just stands there, gazing at Adrien with a face full of sadness and turmoil. Does he have nothing to say? Or is he too surprised to speak?

Adrien has something to say though, something he's wanted to say since long before he knew Hawk Moth's identity. "Why?"

He knows his father, the side he lets show to the world, the side he lets show at home. He knows the history Master Fu told him. But whatever theories are half-formed in his mind don't mean anything. He needs to hear it from his father himself.

His father takes a breath. He lets it out. He presses his lips together and narrows his eyes. He rubs at the bridge of his nose. Adrien waits through all of the fidgeting. All the silence. If this were home, his father would have made an excuse and left the room already. But not today. Not when Adrien can lead him to his dark heart's desire.

So he can wait. He's had a lifetime of practice.

Finally his father says, voice hollow, "For your mother."

It's the only thing his father could say that Adrien would accept. Does he know that? Is he saying it because he knows that? He can accept it, but it doesn't make it right. "So you're turning Paris upside down, transforming citizens—teenagers mostly—into your minions. Fighting Ladybug and me—also teenagers… because of Mom?"

"Because of your Miraculouses!" His father's voice rises with each word until it's almost a shout. "Because only the combined power will be enough!"

"Enough for what?" Adrien doesn't raise his voice. Master Fu is right. Adrien might be the only one who can get through to him. And if this turns into a shouting match, he might lose his chance here and now.

Father scowls. "Enough to—" He cuts himself off and visibly tries to rein himself in. "Enough to bring her home." Heartbreak blooms on his face, slipping that control.

Adrien has never seen so much emotion from his father as he has today, not in years. He's been the epitome of cool and collected. It's why Adrien never suspected him of being Hawk Moth until the evidence was too great. Hawk Moth deals in overwhelming emotion, in _twisting_ that emotion. So to see it now raging through his father is astonishing.

Maybe it's only as Hawk Moth that he can really _feel_.

The thought is a heavy blow.

Adrien takes a step forward, maybe for comfort, maybe for curiosity—he doesn't know. "How?"

Irritation flashes across his father's face. "All that private tutoring and you don't even have a guess?" he sneers. "Only a year in public education and this is what happens."

"Oh, I have a guess!" Adrien shoots back, all Chat Noir fire. So much for avoiding a shouting match. He's used to his father patronizing him but by the surprise on his father's face, _he's_ not used to Adrien's new spine. "I've learned more in a year than I did for five! But I want to hear from _Hawk Moth_ how having our Miraculouses is going to fix everything!"

His father bares his teeth, an expression of distaste. "I think the only thing you learned this last year, _Chat Noir_ , is disrespect."

Is it disrespect when the man you've desperately craved love and approval from turns out to be your mortal enemy? "Call it what you want. It's only one of many things."

His father's lip curls. "I assume that doddering fool Fu is responsible for most of it."

"I only met him for the first time less than a week ago. But he made sure the Miraculous ended up in my hands." All of his reasons for running away flood through his mind again and he can't stop from clenching his fists, anger rising. His father knows nothing about what he's experienced this year, because he's never wanted to! He's always had his own little world, expecting his son to fit into it neatly. And even though Adrien has just learned about his _secret_ world, nothing is different.

"I should have known it would be you he would choose." His father's voice drips with contempt. "He's always been a meddler."

Adrien's face flames hot, turning redder than the Ladybug outfit he's wearing. "We've stopped you so far, haven't we? How many of your evil akuma have you thrown at us and failed?" He throws up his hands in front of him, taunting his father with his un-beringed fingers. "And look! You kidnapped me but you _still_ haven't captured my Miraculous!"

"Failure..." His father's eyes narrow. "This is no failure." He gestures to the room, dark and unfamiliar and filled to the brim with butterflies. "I have you back. And safe."

Adrien blinks, anger choking his words. This is safe? His father's prisoner in more reality than ever before? He tries to splutter a response.

Without waiting, his father waves a dismissive hand. "Getting your Miraculous back is only a matter of time."

That unfreezes his tongue. "Ladybug will never let you have it, you know that! She'd never hand it over to you, even to save my life!"

"Are you sure about that, Adrien? I have seen the way she looks at you, the way you look at her. Besides, history always repeats: Ladybug and Chat Noir will do anything for each other, time and again."

No… She wouldn't, she couldn't. She's the smart one in their partnership, the practical one. He knows in his heart _he_ would die for her. As much as it hurts deep down, he hopes she doesn't feel the same. "You're wrong."

"We shall see." He lifts his hand to his moth pin, and murmurs again, re-transforming with a cascade of purple. The room seems to go colder as a rush of butterflies swirl around Hawk Moth like a tornado. With a twist of his wrist, he captures one of them between his palms. As Adrien watches, with a burst of power, the butterfly turns dark, glowing with sinister light. Adrien's anger turns to dread.

He takes a step back. He's a swirling ball of emotions right now, any of which could be used against him, against Ladybug. Does his victim have to accept the power to be turned? Or does the power completely overtake a person's sense of self?

He looks around desperately for an escape, even though he hasn't noticed one yet. Voice cracking with fear, he shouts, "Keep that away from me—!"

Hawk Moth looks up from the akuma cupped in his hands and gives Adrien a lopsided smile. "This akuma is not meant for you."

* * *

 **I hope to have the next one in two weeks time, but I have a couple of non-Transform fic assignments and a family visit in the next few weeks. Going to try, though!**

 **Oh, and I love it when people flail over my cliffhangers, so keep it up. :D**


	10. Ring Around the Revelation

**In writing this chapter, I realized that I never explicitly stated that it is now Bastille Day, and has been since Ch. 8. I've edited the earlier chapters, but I didn't want to confuse anyone!**

* * *

Marinette doesn't even remember getting home. Somewhere in the last hour she must have transformed and made it into bed. She'd spent a fruitless hour before that trying to track Adrien's location with her yo-yo - didn't Master Fu say that their Miraculous would provide them with what they needed? Yeah, right. She'd slammed the yo-yo down in frustration after every query she tried turned up nothing. And Fu's response? "Go home, rest. Your mind will be clearer and you can start the search again."

Lying here in bed, sleep is elusive. Her mind is not clearing - instead it's whirling with worries and theories and ways she's failed her partner. There's a knot in her stomach and a weight on her chest that won't lift. Adrien's in Hawk Moth's hands now. And there's nothing she can do.

She turns over on her side, curling up around the blankets as if hugging Adrien the way she wants to, never letting him go. She still has the cat Miraculous in her tightly-closed fist. She hasn't let it go since she first snatched it from the air. Tikki flutters up beside her to nuzzle her cheek. She doesn't offer condolences or advice. Just companionship.

At some point Marinette realizes that there's a knocking coming from the trapdoor to her room. Probably her mother, coming to check on her or maybe offer a snack. She's not hungry, she'll never be hungry again. Her mother usually goes away after a while if there's no answer. She's always been very respectful of Marinette's privacy, which is why keeping a secret identity has been easy enough.

The trapdoor squeaks open. So much for privacy.

"Marinette?"

The voice is not her mother's. It's Alya's. Tikki phases through the blankets to hide, but Marinette doesn't stir. "Hey." It's all she can manage right now.

"Oh, my god, I'm so glad you're here," Alya says, coming into the room talking up a storm. "Why don't you answer your texts anymore? I mean, I thought maybe you were out with your family for Bastille Day, but your mom says you've just been out in town. Did you see on the news what happened with Ladybug and Chat Noir today? It's the craziest thi—" Alya cuts off once she's close enough to see Marinette's state. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it." And she can't talk about it, either, since it's all Miraculous stuff. Which _sucks_. It's never sucked more than it seems to right now.

"Don't want to…?" She feels Alya sit on the edge of the bed. "Or can't?"

Alya can always sense the truth, even if it's not the full truth. Marinette buries her face in the pillow. "Does it matter?" she says, mouth muffled.

"It matters when you're my best friend. My best friend who has been acting weird all week and looks like she's going to spend all of Bastille Day in bed. What is it?" Her voice softens, and she runs a comforting hand across Marinette's shoulder. "Is it Adrien?"

It _is_ about Adrien. Even though it's not what Alya thinks, not the supposed 'disappearance of Adrien Agreste' that has been on everyone's lips since that press conference. Yet, it is. She's lost him—she truly has—not just Adrien, but Chat Noir. Both of them and one in the same. Tears leaking from her eyes, she grips the ring in her hand even tighter, the metal cutting into her palm. If she could grip it tighter, she would.

"Oh, honey…" Alya's arms come to encircle Marinette's chest. "It's okay. They're going to find him. I know what Mr. Agreste said, but I trust Ladybug and Chat Noir. My girl would never stop looking."

Alya's confidence in her should lift her spirits, but instead despair bubbles from her throat and she lets out a long sob. "But what if she _doesn't_ find him, what if she doesn't…."

Alya doesn't contradict her, she just holds Marinette tighter. From below the covers, Tikki snuggles closer, her tiny body radiating warmth. It helps, but it's not enough. The man who has made Adrien's life a living hell—both in and out of costume—has him, and there's nothing she can do.

"What?" Alya says, stilling.

Marinette freezes up, too. Did she just say that out loud?

"Who has him?" Alya's voice is flat, disbelieving.

"Tell her," Tikki whispers, somehow audible through the layers of blankets. "You can trust her."

Marinette knows that. She's always known Alya would understand. But how does Alya knowing the truth help anything? She doesn't have a Miraculous.

Tikki must somehow know what she's thinking. "Sharing a burden makes it easier to bear."

"Hawk Moth has him," Marinette says quietly. "He sent his butterflies after him and I don't know… spirited him away." She pulls her hand out from under her pillow, the one clutching its precious cargo, and open it to reveal the Chat Miraculous. "All I have left of him is this."

Alya sits up straight, eyes wide and blinking. She looks from the ring in Marinette's hand to Marinette's reddened eyes. She takes a long moment to note Marinette's pigtails, her eyes, her earrings. A series of emotions crosses her face in quick succession. Shock, excitement, betrayal, worry, determination, then cycling back again. Which one will the roulette wheel finally stop on?

Alya closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to calm herself. "Okay," she says, "so you and Adrien are Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Marinette nods, afraid to speak until she's sure what Alya's state of mind is.

"Have always been Ladybug and Chat Noir. Since the day we met. Since the first day Adrien started coming to our school."

Marinette nods again, this time adding a sniffle.

"No, no. I would have figured it out by now. There would have been some slip up, some clue…"

At that moment, Tikki phases back through the blankets to float into Marinette's lap. "Is this enough of a clue?"

Alya stumbles back off the bed, hitting the floor with a thump. "Wha—what is that!?"

Tikki giggles. "I am Tikki, Marinette's kwami. I help her transform into Ladybug."

The shock of seeing the kwami shifts to excitement, like a flipped switch. "Oh my god, you _are_ Ladybug. My best friend is Ladybug!"

A ghost of a grin touches Marinette's lips. She's imagined how Alya would react a dozen times, but seeing it is something else. Picking herself off the floor, Alya squeals, "I can't believe how well you hid it! Acting like you had a crush on Adrien! And really you were fighting crime with him every day! Maybe you should be going into acting instead of fashion. Both of you!"

And now the grin is gone, the reality of Adrien's disappearance washing over her momentary happiness. "I didn't know Adrien was Chat Noir. Not until a few days ago."

That stops Alya's excited babbling cold.

"And he _still_ doesn't know about me," Marinette continues. "And now his father has him locked up somewhere and I can't find him. As long as I'm keeping this ring safe, I have to keep my identity safe from him, too."

"Wait. His father? I thought you said Hawk Moth—"

She might as well know it all now. "Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste." She laughs, a bitter bark. "Miraculous holders run in his family." Shaking her head, she adds, "But we didn't find out until yesterday."

"Oh my…! No wonder you've been acting so weird." Alya nudges her gently. "I mean, weirder than normal."

For Alya's benefit, Marinette smiles briefly. "Yeah, I've always been a little weird." To punctuate it, Tikki flutters up onto her shoulder.

Alya takes her hand and squeezes. "So how are we going to stop Hawk Moth?" That's just like Alya, ready to take on anything—even a supervillain—for her friends.

"I don't know," Marinette tells her, bones aching with frustration and defeat. "We've spent months fighting Hawk Moth, never knowing when he was going to unleash a new akuma. We've always had to react, to go on the defensive. If we'd only known who we were up against from the beginning…" The bitterness in her voice increases. If Master Fu had been _upfront_ with them! "...we wouldn't be in this situation. Adrien wouldn't be missing."

"Do you…" Alya nods toward the ring in Marinette's hand. "Do you think he's going to ransom Adrien for your Miraculouses?"

Marinette's fists clench. "Yes. Getting our Miraculouses has always been more important to him than his own son."

"Then what if you try to lure him out? Promise him your Miraculous if he confronts you in person, and then pull the old switcheroo? Couldn't you take him?"

"Alone?" Marinette doesn't know. It's always taken both Ladybug and Chat Noir to defeat Hawk Moth's akumas.

"You've got me! I could be your—your tech support." Her voice rises as she talks. "I've been collecting data from the akuma attacks and tracking the path of butterflies before and afterward. I bet we could narrow down his base of operations."

Marinette feels the first stirrings of hope in a long time. "Let me see what you have."

* * *

Marinette pushes through the crowd. Are there always so many people out for the fireworks this early? It's barely eight o'clock. She and Alya had spent the rest of the afternoon in Alya's bedroom going through the data and figuring out the most likely location for Hawk Moth's lair.

Why did it have to be so close to the Eiffel Tower?

"Excuse me," she murmurs as she threads her way past a family with two young kids, both of whom are jumping up and down to see something that won't start for at least two hours. She could avoid all this if she were in Ladybug form. But she knows the second she transforms, Hawk Moth might be able to sense her location. Stealth is more important than speed.

"Hey, wait up!" Alya complains behind her. She's got her tablet under her arm, checking it every so often to make sure they're on the right track. As they take a breath to rest against a wall, Alya asks, "Wouldn't this be a lot easier if you, uh," —she lowers her voice— "transformed?"

"I'd be a lot less tired, yeah. But I want to wait until we're as close as we can get. Ha—Mr. Agreste—always seems to know where we are… at least the general neighborhood." She blows out a frustrated breath. "Haven't you ever noticed that his attacks almost always happen at or near school?"

Alya raises an eyebrow. "I run The L—your blog. Of course I have." She pulls Marinette a little closer for privacy. "Just because I never figured _your_ deal out…"

"You got close _so_ many times, you don't even know."

Alya's mouth crinkles up on one side. "You don't have to try to make me feel better. Is that location sense, like, one of his powers? Like the telepathy?"

Marinette shakes her head. "We don't know. Maybe it's a feature of his cane, like what we can do with the yo-yo or the staff."

"Hmm." Alya's quiet for a moment. "Why does he want your Miraculouses so badly? Do the tools combine into a supertool or something?"

"Master Fu told us that the combined power of the Cat and Ladybug Miraculouses are more powerful than any of the others combined."

"Others?"

"Yes." There's so much that Marinette's going to have to explain to Alya once this is all over. "There are five other Miraculouses, at least. Though only four are active right now."

"Four?" Alya counts on her fingers. "The fourth is this Master Fu person?"

Marinette nods.

"So…" Alya glances toward the bag slung over Marinette's shoulder. "Why haven't you tried combining your Miraculouses to defeat him?"

Before Marinette's mouth can open in surprise, Tikki zooms out, heedless of being seen. "No! She can't do that! It's too dangerous!"

They both turn in toward the wall to protect Tikki from being seen. "What would happen?" Alya asks.

Tikki almost shivers in the air. "The power is so great that only the most experienced Miraculous holder can handle it without losing themselves and causing untold damage. Hawk Moth thinks he is ready, but…"

Marinette knows _she_ isn't. She's only been Ladybug for less than a year. "I won't try it Tikki. We're going to get the ring back to Adrien, where it belongs."

Tikki smiles, her little body slumping with relief. She flies back into Marinette's purse, and they set off again. Only a few meters down the street there's a ping from Alya's tablet. "We're close."

Marinette lifts her eyes to look all around the area—above, below, to the highest rooftops. The crowd is thick here, too. What if he's hiding in plain sight? With a sinking feeling, she realizes that nothing stands out. Any of these places could be Hawk Moth's lair… or none of them, if Alya's algorithm isn't correct. The only way to find out for sure is to show herself.

There's an alley right here, but with all the people around, anyone could step in and see her transform. Alya grabs her by the hand and drags her behind a dumpster. "I'll play lookout. Do your thing!"

Marinette is suddenly overwhelmed with love for her best friend and hugs her close. "Thank you." Why didn't she tell her months ago? Then she hands Alya her purse—the ring is in there, and she's not sure what would happen to it during transformation. "Hold this for me?"

She spins into her transformation, praying that the sparkling red light won't attract any attention. Hopefully the crowd is anticipating the big show too much to notice her own little fireworks display.

"You done?" Alya asks.

Ladybug answers by looping her yo-yo around a pipe above her and swinging around to land in front of Alya.

Alya rolls her eyes. "I had no idea you were such a show-off." It's too affectionate to be a real complaint.

Ladybug laughs. "Hey! When you've got it, you've got it!"

"Can't argue with that." Alya lifts her tablet to point toward the yo-yo. "Call me with that if you need—" She breaks off, frowning at something that has popped up on her screen.

"What?" But Ladybug hears something in the distance that draws _her_ attention—shrieks of fear.

"Akuma," they both say.

"Go," Alya tells her. "I'll track you from here."

Ladybug nods and springs away. At the street she sees it—a figure three stories high, covered in a waterfall of paper strands. No, they're more like tentacles. As Ladybug watches, a strand slithers into the crowd and plucks up a girl and lifts her high. At first she screams and struggles, but as the paper binds her, wrapping her tight, she goes still and silent. There are three other girls twisted up in the strands as well.

All of them have short, black hair.

Ladybug jumps to the ledge of a building and shouts, "Hey! You! If you're looking for me, I'm over here!"

Immediately the akumatized villain turns to her. The girls tumble to the ground as their paper prisons unravel. She doesn't have time to check on them because with a _roar_ , the villain lunges for her.

She sprints for the rooftops, leading the villain away from the Eiffel Tower and the thousands gathering there. She's running _away_ from where they suspect Hawk Moth is hiding Adrien, but with innocent people's safety on the line, what else can she do?

When they're far enough away, she whirls to face it again. "Hawk Moth!" she shouts at the villain. "I know you can hear me. Why do we always have to play these games?" She dodges a paper tentacle. "Come after me yourself, instead of your minions! Maybe we can work something out!"

"I'm Ticker Tape!" the paper monster says, every word rustling, crackling, and crinkling. "Not Hawk Moth. He—!"

The voice stops dead, and the features morph into a familiar face. "Ladybug," says the smooth baritone of Hawk Moth, though shot-through with the rustle of paper as well. "Are you ready to surrender your Miraculous?"

A few strands shoot out toward her to capture her, but she dodges again. "Not to this creature! Only to you. And only…" She hesitates, not sure who can hear them. "... only if you bring your son!"

He chuckles, nothing more than a scraping sound. "You'd do anything for him, wouldn't you?"

Heat suffuses her face, but he's right. She would. "Yes."

"Then I believe a meeting can be arranged." Hawk Moth, through Ticker Tape, gives her a wicked smile, more terrifying because of the villain's oddly shaped maw. "Shall we set a time and location?"

"Right now," she tells him, body thrumming with determination. "At your lair."

"Very well."

The words have barely left his mouth when strands shoot out in all directions, an impossible web. Ladybug spins her yo-yo to cut through them, but it catches, tangling hopelessly. The last thing she remembers is fighting off paper tentacles as they slowly encircle her body, tighter and tighter. Then, only darkness.

* * *

Alya gasps when she sees Ladybug's body go limp. She's been following someone's streaming video from their phone. It's not close enough to get any audio, but the video is clear. Ladybug has been captured.

Dumbstruck with fear, Alya clutches the screen tight with both hands. As she watches, the paper monster stalks away with his prize, farther and farther from the video feed. Frantically, she searches for another feed… there's nothing.

She leans back against the alley wall with a frustrated thump, and there's a sharp pain in her side as she smashes something against the bricks. It's Marinette's purse. "What do you have in here, girl? Rocks?"

No, she realizes, not rocks. A ring. _The_ ring.

Should she? No, it's crazy. It doesn't belong to her. It may not even work…

She finds herself lifting it between her fingers, studying the green paw print on a black field. Maybe nothing will happen. But maybe something will…

She closes her eyes and slips it on.

* * *

 **This is heavy exchange season for me, so updates are going to be farther apart. I'll do my best not to go too long, though! Thanks for all your continued support.**


	11. A Tail of Two Chats

Nothing happens.

Or at least, nothing seems to. Alya looks down at the ring. It's… different somehow. Now it's a dull silver. Wasn't it black before? With a green pawprint? She shakes her hand. Twirls it around. Makes claws with her fingers and lets out a tentative 'meow.' Nothing.

Then she flicks it with her finger. Hard.

"Hey!" a tiny voice complains at her ear. "That's not nice!"

"Eep!" She jumps back, narrowly avoiding smacking her head on the wall. She looks around for the source of the voice.

Raucous laughter fills the air. "Oh, that's rich! You're just as fun to freak out as the last Chat Noir! Hope you're better at keeping cheese on you, though…"

Her eyes finally light on the being hovering a few meters away, just about at eye level. It's a sort of… cat—black, with green eyes and proto-whiskers sticking out of its head. Alya narrows her eyes. "Who are you?"

"Me?" It says, flipping into a loop-de-loop before bowing. "I'm Plagg. Your new kwami. I give you the powers of Chat Noir."

Powers—that sounds _amazing_ , but whatever she receives is not hers to keep. " _Temporary_ powers," she tells Plagg. "I need to get this ring, and I guess, you, back to Adrien as soon as possible."

The kwami stills in mid-air. "Adrien? I don't know who—?"

For a moment, Alya is worried. Do kwami not know their user's identities? Do they magically forget to protect their secrets? Then she sees Plagg's furtive side glance. He knows. "Adrien Agreste," she hisses. "The last Chat Noir. The _real_ Chat Noir! Mar—" She stops just in time. "—Ladybug told me."

He laughs nervously, rubbing his head with a tiny paw. "Oh, heh, that Adrien. Yes."

"You've got to help me find him. Hawk Moth has him. And one of his akumas has Mar—Ladybug, too!" Man, keeping her best friend's secret is tough. How did those two do it for so long?

"You can say Marinette, it's fine. We kwamis know the identities of all the Miraculous users." Plagg's voice sounds smug.

Really? "Marinette's so sure Adrien doesn't know!"

"He doesn't." Plagg begins to flutter around her body, searching for something. She gets a little dizzy following him with her eyes. "Or at least he didn't last I saw him. Got any cheese on you? Camembert?"

"What?" This is ridiculous. "Why would I have cheese?"

Plagg slumps, growling with disappointment. "Maybe you're not any better, then."

"Better than wh—? Okay, never mind." Is this part of the whole kwami experience? How do Adrien and Marinette handle it? She clenches her fists and lowers her eyebrows. "We don't have time to mess around. Marinette is in danger; _Adrien_ is in danger! I need you to make me, like, shazam into Chat Noir or whatever you do."

"Then…" He tugs on her sleeve, impatient. "Where's the grocery store!"

She just looks at him. "You're seriously still asking for cheese?"

"Sheesh, even Adrien was easier to teach than this…" He sighs. "I'm out of energy. In order to get energy, I need to eat, and when I eat…!" He flies up into her face and grasps a lock of her hair. "I need to eat Camembert!"

Oh! "Why didn't you say so in the first place!"

"I—forget it." He jumps into one of the pockets on her shirt and points a paw forward. "Let's go!"

The clerk gives her a really weird look when she buys three wheels of camembert—and nothing else—on a national holiday, but she doesn't explain. She doesn't have time. She tried to just grab one, but the little kwami kept tugging at her shirt fabric until she turned around and got enough to satisfy him.

In the end it takes only two wheels of the stuff—Plagg tells her the last one is for after—then he's ready. "Just say, 'Claws out!' and I'll do the rest."

"That's it?" She looks down at the ring, nervous but determined. "'Claws out?'"

"Yes, that's—" he begins, but suddenly his voice gets high and thready and he swirls into the ring.

As he disappears, she feels a wash of magic tingle its way from her feet to her head. Each part the green light touches feels strong, powerful, crackling with energy. She leaps into the air, striking a pose with the staff. "Paw-some!"

Then she covers her mouth. She's never been much of a punster. Though she's heard Chat Noir do it a million times. Must be part of the package. Or maybe what her subconscious thinks she's supposed to do.

Alya tests out a few jumps, spinning the staff and vaulting with it from one building to the next. It's effortless, almost like the suit, or the magic that powers it, is reading her intentions and giving her what she needs.

She bounds high into the air with a thrust of the staff and lets out a laugh of triumph. No wonder Adrien and Marinette kept this to themselves, even from each other! It's amazing, the power singing through her veins like electricity. Everything is brighter, in sharper relief. The mask replaces her glasses and improves her vision, like, 1000% percent.

Landing on a high tower, she looks around. Somewhere around here Hawk Moth is holding Adrien. But where? Should she check every building? Obviously the Chat powers don't come with a telepathic ability, or Chat Noir and Ladybug would have discovered Hawk Moth's location right away. At least, she can't sense anything.

What other powers does she have? She pulls out the staff and examines it. She's seen Chat communicate with the staff in videos, but she doesn't have any idea how—

The top of the staff suddenly pops up with a little screen, almost like a smartphone. There's a data icon and a texting icon—a call icon, too. "Um," she says, hovering a gloved claw over the screen. She touches the call icon but there's nothing there in the history. Ladybug won't answer when she calls, not with an akumatized villain controlling her.

But she tries anyway. "Call Ladybug." A Ladybug graphic appears on the screen. It rings and rings.

Who else can she call? The police? The mayor? No, wait. How about this Fu person Marinette told her about? "Call Master Fu."

It rings again, no answer. Is he in trouble, too? Or does this only work if he's transformed? This thing is not much help if that's true.

Okay, time to try another tack. " _Find_ Ladybug." The screen dissolves into a map of Paris, with a blinking dot moving slowly away from the Eiffel Tower area. She pumps a fist—it's not far from where she is now! She reverses a couple steps to take a leap—and then skids to a stop.

If she can find Ladybug, then… "Find Hawk Moth."

She waits. The map stays the same.

"Find Gabriel Agreste." Still nothing.

Has he blocked this power with his magic… is his location completely cloaked? Or...

She grips the staff, heart in her throat, and says a silent prayer that this works… "Find Adrien Agreste."

A second blinking light appears, even closer than Ladybug. Yes!

Does she go after Ladybug and face the akuma alone? Or does she go after Adrien and take her chances with Hawk Moth? She knows what Ladybug would do, no question.

She leaps toward Adrien.

The domed roof of the building looms before her, the single window shuttered tight. As she lands, she checks the screen again. Yes, this is the place. So much for sneaking in via the roof. How is she going to get in?

"Scan building," she tells the staff after a moment's thought. The screen turns into a scanner, showing a floor plan of all three levels. Starting from the ground floor, she can see into every room, including the furnishings, of which there are very few. In the first two levels, there are no people at all. Maybe that's not surprising, especially if this building is primarily Hawk Moth's lair. In the third—

She can't see into the top floor at all, just a blank grey space. It's as if there's nothing there. But that can't be true, if Adrien is really here.

She's going to have to scan that third level with her own eyes.

She scales down the side of the building, halfway down to the closest window before she realizes what she's doing. Is it just instinct? Does the suit somehow let her body know that it's possible? Whatever it is, the Chat claws stick to the wall easily.

The windowpanes are thick and heavy, and if she knows Gabriel Agreste, reinforced with extra security. She tests one out anyway, and it doesn't budge. With a claw, she draws a circle in the center of the glass, just like one of those spy movies, and it actually works. The glass falls inward to land on a rug with a muffled clatter.

She freezes. There are no alarms, no sound of running from elsewhere in the house. She slowly places her gloved hand through the hole, bracing herself for something, anything. But it passes right through.

Maybe he's not worried about intruders. Who would be worried if they could transform people into their willing slaves?

But she's worried—worried that she's in the wrong place. That there's a trap waiting for her inside. Alya takes a deep breath and gathers her courage. Then she crawls through, landing in a crouch on the floor.

On cat-like feet—the thought makes her smirk despite her nerves—she creeps through the building, looking for access to the mysterious third floor. There are no stairs, no trapdoor, no elevator. She can't see anything out of the ordinary, even with her enhanced vision.

She stops in the center of the room and closes her eyes. Cats can sense movement more easily than humans, can't they? The kitten she had when she was little certainly knew where she was anywhere in the apartment. She lets all her cares, all her worry, slide away and just focuses on... feeling.

There. Just above and to the right.

She looks up at the spot. In very light relief, there's something on the ceiling, a patch that would be invisible to the naked human eye. She stands directly below it, holding the staff above her head to try to touch it. It's just a little too short. But at that thought, the staff extends exactly the length she needs and there's a faint click.

An opening enlarges like a camera aperture, in the shape of a butterfly. Of course it does.

Now that she knows that the staff can grow, she wills it to grow long enough to go through the opening and then some. Clambering up in a reverse fireman's slide, she's up and through in a moment.

The butterfly aperture closes the moment she touches down, and she quickly retracts the staff to keep it from getting caught.

The first thing she notices, even before her eyes adjust, is the sound of dozens of tiny beating wings. She can't see them yet—the room is mostly dark, only a faint glow of light that seems to come from everywhere at once. She holds the staff in front of her as she studies the room, both terrified and brave, but ready to fight.

Her eyes adjust quickly—a benefit to cat vision—and she can finally see the butterflies. They cover the walls, delicate and white, looking like the same ones that captured Adrien earlier today. But she can't see another living soul. Where is Adrien? Where is Hawk Moth? Is the room... empty?

No. There, a faint movement, a person slumped over in a simple wooden chair.

She pads toward the person, staff at the ready, until she's sure of who it is. It's Adrien, hair a sweaty mess, face covered in tear tracks, and arms and ankles tied securely with thick rope to the chair.

"Adrien," she whispers, trying not to startle him.

His green eyes pop open, and his fingers curl into claws. He's so obviously the real Chat Noir, with or without it. He takes in her appearance, then stutters out, "Wh-who... Ch-Chat Noir?"

"Yes!" she says, striking a pose. Then, feeling silly, she drops it. "I'm here to rescue you!"

"But I—How did—" He shakes his head hard. "Who are you?"

She can't help but laugh. For months, Adrien hid his identity from her, from everyone! The clawed shoe is finally on the other paw. So with a bit of a snarky drawl, she says, raising an eyebrow, "It's like you said. I'm Chat Noir."

"Where's Ladybug?" he asks, not chastened at all. "Is she okay? Did the akuma get her?"

Oh. He's more worried about Ladybug than himself. Alya's heart breaks for him—why is she wasting time playing games? Alya tells him the truth. "Yes. That's why I'm here." She looks around nervously. "Where is Hawk Moth?"

Adrien's face crumples. "I don't know. He created a new akuma and sent it out… and then everything is hazy after that."

She tenses. Hawk Moth could still be here in the building, in some hidden room or panel, just like this floor. They don't have much time. "Let me get you out of those ropes."

As she's loosening his bonds he sits up straight, eyes flashing. "Why are you worrying about me?! Ladybug is out there, your _partner_ is out there, and you're messing about with some nobody!" He tries to gesture, but all he can do is clench his fists. "Go save her!"

If he'd had his claws, she'd have scratches from head to toe. "Adrien…" she says softly. " _You're_ her partner."

He stills. "What?" Fear chases anguish across his face.

As much fun as it would be to tease him with her identity, she can't do that to him, not now. She lifts the ring and shows it to him. "Ladybug gave this to me for safekeeping." Maybe just because Marinette needed to transform—and _not_ so Alya could use it to become Chat Noir, but that's beside the point. "But it really belongs to you."

"To me…?"

Alya shakes her head. Of course, why would he just admit it, especially when he doesn't know her from Adam when she's transformed?

She sighs. "Plagg, claws…" Then she frowns. He told her what to say to transform, but not the other way around. "Claws back? Claws down?"

"In," Adrien says. Then he bites his lip, realizing he's confirmed the truth.

She chuckles. That makes sense. "Plagg, claws in."

The green magical light flows down her body and suddenly she's herself again, the pulsing energy gone as if it had never been.

"A—Alya?" He looks floored.

"Yep. In the flesh."

"How did you—Who told—Where did—?" His face is filled with so many questions that she feels even more sorry for him.

But before she can answer, Plagg flies up to spin in the air. "Adrien!" he cries, launching himself at his true companion. "You're okay!"

"Yes, you mad kitty," he tells Plagg, fond smile lighting his face despite his confusion and their dire circumstances. "I'm fine." After a short pause, he adds, "Unhurt, anyway."

"Good! Then—" Plagg zooms into Alya's bag to snatch the last Camembert round for himself.

Adrien watches him start to devour the cheese, but soon he's standing, shaking off his ropes, and bombarding her with questions. "Do you know Ladybug? Personally? When did that happen? Why did she tell you I was Chat Noir? Did Ladybug really give you the ring? How did you find me in the first place? I—"

"Whoa, champ, slow down!" She tells him. This Adrien is so different from the polite and self-effacing classmate she knows that it's a little hard to reconcile. This Adrien is full of fire and anger and bravery… a lot like his alter ego. "Let me try to answer. Okay, Yes, I know Ladybug personally, but finding out her identity only happened today. She told me because you're in trouble, and I convinced her I could help. She really gave me the ring, but only because she didn't want to carry it transformed. As for finding you… that little staff doohickey is pretty damn useful."

He's been shaking his head in disbelief but he stops at the mention of the staff. "The _staff_. You mean _all this time_ I could have used the staff to find Hawk Moth?" He curses under his breath.

"No," she tells him definitively. "I could only find you or Ladybug. It's only because you're here that I found his lair."

He goes to attention so fast she can almost see invisible ears perking up. "You know where Ladybug is? Right now?"

"Yes. Or at least I did. She was moving—or most likely, the akuma carrying her was."

"Oh no—We—" he says, pulling at his hair, "—have to go save her!"

"No." Alya pulls off the ring, the only thing left to do, what she's been trying to do since she first put it on. Holding it out in her palm, she says, "You do."

* * *

 **Thank you for all your patience as I update this story around my other commitments. Definitely let me know what you think!**


	12. Bombshell

The ring glitters in Alya's palm, now black and green instead of dull silver. He's only just aware that Plagg is absent, and once again within the ring. Is it because she's giving it back to him of her own free will? "Go on," she says. "Take it."

He does, not snatching it, but gently plucking it from her hand and sliding it on. Once it's nestled on his finger, everything feels so right, so just the way things should be. But he pushes that feeling aside. Ladybug is in danger and he is her only hope right now.

He takes a step back and cries, "Claws Out!" If his triumphant smile at the end of the transformation is brighter than usual, can anyone fault him?

Alya regards him with an amused smirk. "Wow, you really work those model moves when you transform, don't you?"

His skin heats. He doesn't mean to—it's just instinct. And he's never watched himself transform in a mirror or anything. Ignoring the comment, he flips open the screen at the top of the staff. "How did you track us before?"

Alya gives him an odd look. "With that." When his confused look doesn't fade, she snaps back to tech guru in a flash. "It's kind of like a magical Siri." To the staff, she commands, "Find Ladybug."

Nothing happens.

Then she facepalms. "Duh. _You_ have to do that."

He lifts the staff close enough to speak. "Find Ladybug." And as promised, a map of the city appears with a glowing red dot for Ladybug. The dot is moving, but slowly. He can get there in minutes if he pushes himself.

Where is his father, though? Is he there with her even now?

"Go get her," Alya says quietly.

She gives him a few short directions for leaving, but it's easy enough to leave via the aperture window. He'd seen his father press the butterfly indentation on the wall. When it opens, the butterflies on the walls all around flutter their wings. Maybe it's anticipation, maybe it's fear.

Alya shivers. "He _really_ has a thing for butterflies, doesn't he?"

"I'm surprised he didn't use it in his fashion line, honestly. Probably thought it was a little too on the nose."

Before he leaps out the window, he asks, "Are you going to be all right? Do you want me to get you back to the street?"

"Are you kidding? And miss the chance to snoop around Hawk Moth's lair?"

Chat shakes his head, smiling. The intrepid journalist, as always. "I'll come back for you, I promise." And then he's off, just as it's darkening past twilight and fireworks begin to decorate the sky.

* * *

Chat's blood roars as he finally catches up to Ticker Tape and his captive. He'd chased the red dot on the screen across the city, and it isn't until he reaches them that he sees he's been led in a massive circle, almost back to where he began, though it's a few buildings over, not Hawk Moth's lair after all. He leaps, farther than he's leapt before, just catching the words of Ticker Tape on the night wind. "Remove your Miraculous and give it to me."

"No!" he shouts, mid-flight, but her hands are moving to her ears. He focuses in, on her slender fingertips closing on the clasp on her left earlobe, just as he lands. His claws screech into the concrete of the building several meters down from where Ticker Tape has Ladybug in thrall.

And then the earring comes undone, and a flash of brilliant red magical light blends into the fireworks lighting the darkened sky.

He turns his eyes away, unable to watch. He's been waiting for Ladybug to reveal herself to him in her own time—but he can't know like this, against her will. It doesn't matter to him that she discovered his identity after an akuma attack herself. He's always _wanted_ her to know, from the beginning. And even if she's been close to telling him, as he suspects she has been, she hasn't yet.

He will not find out without her consent.

But even though he won't use his eyes, his ears are more difficult to control. A low chuckle sounds from above, a familiar one, filtered through the voice of the paper monster. His father.

"Ah. I should have known. The little bug has been flitting around my son for a long time."

What? Adrien's heart both leaps and sinks. Is Ladybug someone that he knows? Someone that he knows well?

"The old fool made a canny choice. You are well-matched both in and out of costume. A pity. I might have approved of you, if not for our… enmity." Adrien hears the rustle of paper, the monster moving across the rooftop. "Place the earrings in the akuma's hand."

Adrien's body washes through with waves of shock, confusion, anguish and anger. And a tiny seed of certainty begins to put down roots. This ends tonight.

Tensing his muscles to spring, he scrambles upward and lands in front of Ticker Tape, his eyes resolutely away from his Lady. "Let. Her. Go," he growls. Hacking downward with his staff like a sword, he cuts at the paper strands. They break, but more take their place.

"Chat Noir," Hawk Moth says through his puppet as the strands swirl around Chat. As he fights them off with a flurry of claws and kicks, his father continues, "Son. If you have escaped and regained your Miraculous, perhaps you are a worthy heir after all."

"I've always been worthy," Chat snarls. "But not of you. I'll never be an heir to evil." He fights and claws through the strands, desperately looking for the akumatized item to destroy. He's always tried to be careful of the victim within, but this time is different. All the pent-up anger toward his father is coming out all at once in the savagery of his claws.

The item is buried under so many layers of paper that he can't see it. Maybe it's a piece of paper itself—but which one? He snarls with frustration and keeps lashing at the strands. Ticker Tape is backing slowly toward the edge of the building. If Chat pushes them over, Ladybug will go, too.

For a brief moment, the thought of using Cataclysm crosses his mind… _no_. His regular claws will have to do.

"Why," he asks, voice straining with effort as he slashes. His father never answered Chat's last barb, and it worries him. Is Hawk Moth planning another trap? "Won't. You. Face. Us. In. Person!?"

The monster chuckles. "Haven't you realized? This is how the Butterfly Miraculous works. It gives others the powers, and I only control the strings." As he says it, the strands holding Ladybug lift into the air. He can't, he _won't_ turn to see, but the shadows playing on the rooftop tell enough.

Chat bares his teeth. "So you'll face me—" _Slash_ "—when I'm powerless—" _Slash_ "—but not when she is?" _Slash_ He suddenly realizes something and he lashes out. "You still don't have her Miraculous yet. You'll never get it while I'm keeping Ticker Tape occupied."

"Won't I?" Hawk Moth says.

The sound doesn't come from Ticker Tape. It's Hawk Moth's voice, ringing clearly from over Chat's shoulder.

"No!" Chat turns, all promises not to look disappearing in a wave of protectiveness. He sees the paper strands pull Ladybug's figure toward Hawk Moth. He sees her open palm, the earrings glittering on her bare, pale skin. He focuses on that, not her face, in a desperate attempt to keep his promise after all.

But in his moment of distraction, new paper strands have come to encircle Chat's arms, pinning them to his sides along with his staff.

He fights them, but it's too late, Hawk Moth is reaching forward to pluck the earring from her palm. Chat feels on fire as he tries to stop it, his muscles straining to their breaking point, to past it—

—Ladybug's palm closes.

Her other hand punches forward, fingers closing on the Butterfly Miraculous. She pulls—

—and a flash of blinding purple light, there stands his father. White suit, perfect hair, blinking in confusion.

* * *

The paper strands fall away from Marinette's arms, from Chat's, dissolving to dust. She hears a thump, the akuma victim collapsing after the loss of power. She glances quickly to make sure they are all right, and sees Chat do the same. It's a little girl, a sliver of paper clutched in her hand. She moans softly, but there's no blood, no obviously broken bones.

Adrien's father stands there, shaking, eyes cloudy and unseeing. Is this what happens when a Miraculous user's item is torn from them? She feels a pang of sympathy, easily smothered as she remembers all the times he would have done the same to them.

Her next glance is for Chat. He must be in shock—finally finding out who she is—but he doesn't show it, his eyes only on his father. He moves in between her and his father, staff held in a defensive position just in case this is a trick.

It was a trick, but not Hawk Moth's. Hers.

During Chat's and the akuma's battle for dominance, she found herself slowly aware of her surroundings. Snatches of conversation filtered though— "how the Butterfly Miraculous works," "you'll never get it" —and she realized that she was no longer under the akuma's control. In dividing his attention between controlling the akuma and taunting his son, Hawk Moth slipped. Faking it wasn't difficult. As long as she kept her face totally blank, she could pretend to be under the akuma's spell. She just had to wait until Hawk Moth showed himself. Until he tried to take her Miraculous for himself.

And now she holds _his_ Miraculous in _her_ hand.

Quite a twist of events.

She opens her mouth—whether to command him or taunt him she isn't sure—but suddenly she hears the sound of boots landing on the tiles behind her.

She whirls to see a man, clad in green from head to toe, shield on his back. His eyes blaze with righteous fury. The domino mask does not hide his identity, but that's because she knows who it is. Master Fu crosses his arms in front of him and intones, "Gabriel. Your reign of terror is over."

Mr. Agreste's shaking hands close into fists, and his eyes clear. "Fu." His eyebrows draw down and he spits out a response with disgust. "Only you would be craven enough to turn my own son against me."

Fu steps forward. "Or clever enough to use every available means to defeat you. You would not cede the Butterfly Miraculous to me on your own."

"It belongs to _me_." Mr. Agreste surges forward then, and Marinette jumps back in terror, clutching the Butterfly pin and her earrings tight. But Chat is right there, staff raised, blocking him. Father and son lock eyes. "Move."

"No." The word is quiet, simple.

"It belonged to you once—no longer," Fu says. "Not after you have twisted its power to your own ends." He turns to Marinette. "Ladybug. Will you give it to me?"

She nods, unfolding her fingers from around the Miraculous, sharp indentations marking her palms from where she held it so tightly.

He opens one palm and a glowing green orb grows above it. "Place it here."

Carefully, ignoring Mr. Agreste's fury, she places it in the glowing light. The Miraculous floats, as if suspended in a force field.

"Thank you." Then with the other hand, he shoots a green beam of light at Mr. Agreste, enveloping him in it. He is frozen there, suspended as the Miraculous is. "This will keep him until we can contact the authorities." The lines of his face relax and then his voice goes soft. "Do you wish to give up your Miraculous as well?"

She looks down, not noticing that she'd been holding them out in an open palm. "No—I mean, why would I?"

Even beneath the domino mask, his eyes are kind. "Its purpose has been served. To stop Hawk Moth and his evil from spreading."

Her mouth drops open, dumbstruck. So this could be it? The end not just for Hawk Moth, but for Ladybug as well? For Chat?

She looks at Chat, who is still facing his father, not looking at her. But his ears are turned backward, focused on her conversation with Fu. "Chat?" she asks. He doesn't turn. Only then does she realize that he hasn't once met her eyes since she de-transformed. "Adrien?" she asks, a pleading note in her voice. "What do I do?"

She watches him tense. "Do you want to give it up?"

"I… I don't know. If there are no more akumas…" She would have her life to herself again. Time to design and go out with her friends, and… see Adrien as much as she wanted. If he wanted to see her, too.

But she would also lose the thrill of soaring through the air, of helping people in the city, of working side by side with the boy she… Marinette swallows. Yes. The boy she loves.

"Whatever you decide, my Lady, that's what we'll do." Without seeing his expression, she can't read whether he wants it or not. "Even if it means I'll never see you again."

Her heart jumps to her throat. He doesn't want to stay with her unless they're superpartners? She swallows painfully, pushing it back down. No, then—she'll keep the Miraculous forever if it means they'll stay together.

Then Chat's voice breaks. "Even if it means I'll never know who you are."

A wash of astonishment goes through her. He doesn't… know who she is? Is that why he hasn't looked at her?

She closes her palm, tucking the earrings into her pocket for now, and takes a step toward him. "Adrien." There's no reason to hide it anymore. Hawk Moth is defeated, and this might be the end of their superhero career. "You will see me again." Another step. "And you know who I am." Another, and she's right behind him. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she says softly, "Turn around."


	13. Justice

**Sorry for the wait! After my busy holiday exchange season, I was pretty burned out. But now I'm back and the story is starting to come to a close. Enjoy the next part!**

* * *

Chat feels Ladybug's hand on his shoulder, fingers unmoving. Her words ring in his ears, _"You will see me again. And you know who I am. Turn around."_

It's as easy as that? After everything?

Her fingers squeeze his shoulder, and he feels her body come flush with his, her heat against his back. Gently, she murmurs, "I know what I said when we first started out, but I want you to know. I really do."

The emotions that course through his body threaten to topple him over. Joy, love, relief, but also fear. This is going to change everything. Even more than when she found out his identity. After all, they were in the middle of his family crisis at the time. They still are...

He glances back over at his father, frozen in Master Fu's force field. He's going to need someone to help him through this—the terrible blowback once the public knows that Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste. And she's offering that to him along with her identity. He never dared hope that she'd offer it up to him freely.

But she has to know that he loves her, loves her with all his heart, no matter who she is outside the mask. How can he do that?

Suddenly, he knows. He closes his eyes and turns to her.

"Adrien...? I promise it's okay, kitty. You can open your eyes."

"Not yet," he says, leaning forward slowly, hoping that she'll meet him halfway.

There's a long moment where nothing happens, and he starts to pull back... but then she pulls him toward her and their lips connect.

It's a rush of sensation, spreading outward from his chest and hips and down to the tips of his claws. Her mouth is so soft, so open, so welcoming, he's never felt anything like this before. His hand splays across her back, curling into the shirt she's wearing, and now he has to touch her with his uncovered hands, feel her skin with his own. But first...

He opens his eyes.

He lifts his head to take her all in. Blue-black hair, a dusting of freckles, eyes as blue as a summer sky. They are looking back at him, not blinking.

Marinette. The revelation explodes in his chest like the fireworks still exploding above the Eiffel Tower. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

He pulls her toward him fiercely and kisses her hard. And she responds in kind, her hands skating across his back, her fingers coming up to twine in his hair. It's Marinette. It's _Marinette_! The girl he spent the year admiring for her fire and loyalty, which has always been on display. The girl who Ladybug trusted with helping runaway Adrien—because she is Ladybug herself!

He wants to de-transform, but he can't unless he ends the kiss. He lifts away, running a gloved hand down the side of her face. "Marinette," he says quietly, hoping she'll hear the adoration in his voice.

She nuzzles his hand and says, voice tremulous, "Adrien."

"Claws in."

After his transformation fades away, they just stand there for several long moments, staring at each other. Plagg and Marinette's kwami go spinning around each other and babble in a language he can't understand. But Adrien's attention is all on Marinette. He can't believe it. On the other hand it makes all the sense in the world. All the little clues from the past year connect in his mind, like an imaginary evidence board with thumbtacks and strings of yarn.

"Was this what it was like for you?" he asks.

The skin between her eyebrows crinkles. "Was what like _what_ for me?"

"Remembering all the clues, all the things I missed that could have led us together before this."

She chuckles. "Yes. I couldn't believe how clueless I was."

"There's a reason for that," Master Fu says from behind them. Adrien looks over Marinette's shoulder to see him smiling serenely at them—he had almost forgotten he was there. "The Miraculous protects its bearer by..." Fu seems to search for a word, "...clouding the minds of those close to them. So that one's identity might remain safe as much as possible, even from one's own family."

"Are you saying—" Marinette looks annoyed. "—that the Miraculous was 'clouding' our minds against each other as well?"

"Yes. By design."

"Seems like a bit of a design _flaw_." Adrien looks over at his frozen father again. "If we'd realized who Hawk Moth was earlier, we might have stopped him before now!"

"If the Miraculous did not have that 'flaw,'" Master Fu says, unperturbed, "Hawk Moth could also have stopped _his_ nemeses—long before they could do good in the city."

Oh. He sees Fu's point.

"So..." he says, turning to Marinette. "What now?"

"I know what," Marinette says, and nearly jumps into his arms to kiss him again. And somehow it's different than when he kissed her while transformed, in more ways than just being able to touch her with bare fingers or to feel her palms run across the skin of his uncovered face. They are just them, just Adrien and Marinette, and it's more thrilling than he could have dreamed.

When it ends, he wishes they were somewhere else, that everything with his father was over and done with, that they could be alone somewhere to talk. To really talk.

But Marinette looks over at his father and then back at Adrien, her eyes pools of sympathy. "What do you want to do with him?"

If it were anyone else, he would have said that they should turn him over to the authorities immediately. It's the right thing to do, and yet he finds he wants to speak to his father, one last time. Before everything comes crashing down.

"Master Fu?" he asks, a note of pleading in his voice. "Do we have to turn him in to the police right away?"

"Of course not, Adrien." Master Fu takes a few steps toward him. "In fact, we don't have to turn him in to the police at all."

* * *

Marinette blinks, thrown out of the tingling rush of the revelation and the kiss. The _three_ glorious kisses. She tries to process the words Master Fu has just said. She's always assumed that Hawk Moth would be locked up once he was caught. After all, he's caused untold harm to the city, even if none of it was permanent due to her Lucky Charm and its cleansing magic. "Didn't you say he needed to be turned in to the authorities?"

"I did." Master Fu nods. "That is not necessarily the police."

"You? To the Guardian?"

He chuckles. "I do not have the authority to decide his final fate. But there are others who do. The seven Miraculous which I protect are only a small set of the Miraculous which exist all over the world."

Suddenly it all makes sense. The book that Adrien's father had been hiding not only shows the Ladybug, Chat and Butterfly Miraculous throughout history, but many more types. Maybe every country in the world has its own protectors.

She looks up at Adrien, and she can see the wheels turning in his mind as well. "All right," he says with a nod, and Marinette feels a wash of relief she didn't expect. But she doesn't want to see Adrien get dragged into the mud along with his father. And she suspects that the Guardian Council, or whatever the name is, will not be lenient. It will simply not be public. "But I would like to talk to him, one last time, before he's taken away."

Fu's eyes soften. "Of course, Adrien." He lifts his hand toward Adrien's father. "I can—"

"Not here," he says, cutting Fu off. "Somewhere private."

It's only a quick transformation and trip, and Ladybug has to admit—this is much more private. Hawk Moth's lair. She shivers despite being clothed again in her uniform. It's not the cold. It's the fluttering of the thousands of butterfly wings recalling the moment when Adrien was taken from her earlier today.

But he's not gone. He's here, with her, real and solid and hers. Truly _hers_ in a way he's never been before.

Chat doesn't react to the butterflies. He clutches his unconscious father in his arms, the body still bathed in the green glow of Fu's force field. Chat's face has settled into a mask of determination, all the anguish he must be feeling subsumed beneath.

Fu waves a hand toward the ceiling, and an aperture window swivels open. "I release you," he murmurs, and the butterflies swirl around each other in frantic circles as they drift away. She watches, silently, until there's only one left, a fluttering silhouette against the bright moon in the night sky. She bites back the words she's always said before—they just don't seem right. Instead, she just thinks them. _Bye, bye, little butterfly._ This time she hopes they really stay gone.

The room seems different then. At peace. Her shivering stops.

Chat sets his father down gently, to lie on the hard, grey floor. Seeing him lying there, he looks defeated and weak, but she knows he isn't. He's more than he appears. He's not just the man she once admired for his fashion empire. He's not just Adrien's father. He's not just the man who once was Hawk Moth. He is Gabriel Agreste. It's the only name that encompasses it all.

Chat steps back, and she comes to stand beside him, her hand slipping around his waist in a show of support.

"Can you wake him?" Chat asks Fu quietly.

Fu nods, and waves a hand toward Gabriel. The field dissipates. At first, Gabriel doesn't move, and Ladybug holds her breath. Chat is just as tense, his muscles stiff where she touches him lightly. But then there's an indrawn breath, and Gabriel groans very gently. He winces, the muscles around his eyes tensing a few times before his eyelids open fully. He blinks, taking in his surroundings.

Does he remember what happened? Is there more to the forcefield than they know?

Gabriel pushes himself up, and his gaze travels across his son, from toe to head. "Adrien," he says.

"Father," Chat says with a nod.

Gabriel turns his attention to Ladybug for a long, searching moment. His imposing aspect comes back as strongly as ever, now that he's awake. Her fingers at her side curl into a fist and her lips press together in determination. His lips twitch for a moment—in recognition or acceptance, it's hard to tell. But he doesn't speak to her.

He gazes next at Master Fu, who watches placidly. But she can see the steel in those eyes, eyes that have probably watched over generations of Miraculous holders and their triumphs and failures. Gabriel's eyes narrow, then he lets out a sigh of defeat.

He comes back to Chat again. "Why am I here?" he asks, tone even. "I expected to wake in a jail cell."

"Most of Paris would like to see you there."

"I would have thought Chat Noir and Ladybug would be the first to want to see it."

Chat's face flushes red and he tenses even more. "How could I? No matter how evil you are—you're still my father."

"Evil?" Gabriel's eyebrows rise and he slowly stands, his height making him more imposing still. "A strong word, son. Especially after I have explained to you the reason I did it. The _only_ reason."

"So the ends justify the means? Is that the lesson I should be taking from this, _Father_?" Chat nearly spits out the word, not cowed at all. He's no longer the frightened and dutiful son. "All the damage, the heartache you caused, was no big deal, because you had a _reason_?"

"The _best_ reason!" Gabriel shouts. "Does it mean nothing to you that I wanted to bring your mother back home? I assumed your mopey and rebellious behavior during the past year were because you missed her so much!"

"Of course I miss her!" Chat shouts back. "If I was 'mopey' and 'rebellious,' then you were _controlling_ and _obsessive_! You turned Paris upside down over and over again to find her!"

"As _you_ should have, once you gained your own Miraculous! If _you_ had taken your partner's Miraculous for yourself, the power you might have held…!" Gabriel's eyes glitter with frustration and desire. "The power you can _still_ hold…!"

He stops, his eyes dropping to their weapons—she finds herself gripping hers in self-defense. Chat's staff has come up across the two of them in a protective stance as well. She begins to lower her yo-yo in embarrassment, but then decides to keep it clenched in her hand. The man is dangerous with or without his Miraculous.

"What do you think I could do against you?" Gabriel's tone has turned mournful, his face suddenly drained of its fervency. "You hold all the power now."

Chat wilts as well, his staff retracting and his shoulders slumping. "No, Father. We only use our powers for good, not for selfish reasons."

"Is it so selfish to want your mother back?"

"What is selfish, Gabriel," Fu says, walking forward with slow and measured steps, "is using those wants as an excuse to destroy."

Gabriel's lip curls up in a sneer. "I suppose that you are going to take over now? Erase my memory to protect your secrets, then take me to jail to rot while my son suffers the double shame of a criminal father and a runaway mother."

"Erase?" Chat asks with shock, looking toward Fu.

She's just as surprised. "You can do that?"

"Yes, young ones, I can." His voice is gentle, his smile serene. His steely gaze, however, rests on Chat. "But do you wish it?"

"Do _I_ wish it?" Chat asks, going pale. "It's up to me?"

Fu nods. "It would protect you. Both of you. Perhaps it would be a kindness. Perhaps he wouldn't need to go to jail after all. And you could have your father back."

She studies Chat's face. She knows he's considering it. He wants his father back. He wants his _family_ back so badly, it's visible in every line of his body.

If he chooses this she wouldn't blame him. Ever.

"No." The word comes out with surprising strength. "He can't just escape like that, not after everything he's done. The people he's hurt deserve justice."

Fu's smile grows wider. "I knew I chose correctly."

"You'll go down for this, too, Fu," Gabriel growls. "Everyone will know that you chose to put a couple of teenagers in the line of fire."

"Perhaps not." He nods toward the window behind Gabriel.

She sees them then. A pair of figures flying through the sky, swooping toward them. Each glide on powerful wings. And then they are through the window and landing behind Gabriel. The female, her white wings settling behind her back, has a black and white mask. The male is tall and muscular, is dressed in white with a black mask and black wings.

"Thank you for your speed, Swan. Falcon," he greets them. "If I could, I would offer you some hospitality after your long flight, but time is of the essence."

"Understood," Swan says. Falcon nods his understanding. They both step forward to grasp Gabriel.

Gabriel reacts, but too late, struggling against their Miraculous strength futilely. "Where are they taking me?" he asks Fu, panic in his voice for the first time.

"To justice," he says, not to Gabriel, but to Chat.

Chat gives him a grim nod. Ladybug pulls him closer, her hand gripping his hip tightly. "Goodbye, Father," he says.

"Son… no. Wait. I won't tell anyone about you, about her, about anyone. I swear on my love for you. You can't let him do this!"

Chat closes his eyes, and Ladybug pulls him into a protective embrace. Pressed against him, she can feel the trembling he was hiding before.

"Then I swear to you on my honor, Fu, this is not over!"

His captors unfurl their wings and with long strokes they lift Gabriel into the air.

"You are correct," Fu says. "It will not be over for you for a long while."

Then they rise through the window and out. She watches until their figures grow smaller and smaller and finally are no longer visible.

"Are they gone?" Chat murmurs into her hair.

The anguish in his voice makes her heart feel like breaking into a thousand pieces. "Yes, kitty."

He slumps into her, boneless, as if he would fall if she weren't holding him up. "I'm here, I'm here," she tells him. "You have a home with me, if you need, always and forever." She murmurs comforts to him for a long time.

And then there's a thump beside her.

She frowns, turning with a gasp to see Master Fu lying prone on the floor, the green of his transformation fading. Wayzz hovers worriedly at his shoulder. "Help him, please!"

"Oh no, what happened?"

"He held onto the transformation as long as he could but…" Wayzz's voice cracks. "It's his heart."


	14. Endings and Beginnings

**A/N: Sorry about the long, long wait! Final chapters can be a little nerve-wracking...**

Marinette paces back and forth in the hospital room, sure she's wearing a groove into the floor. Tikki has been trying to calm her down, but every time she looks at Wayzz, hovering sadly by Master Fu's pillow, her nerves skyrocket.

"He's strong, Marinette," Tikki tries again. "That's why he was chosen for Guardian. Only Guardians are meant to keep their Miraculous for such a long time. Over a hundred fifty years."

Marinette stops pacing, stunned by a double revelation. If he got his Miraculous at fifteen, as she had, then... "Just how old is he?"

"One hundred eighty-six, in fact," Tikki says solemnly.

Wow. She looks at him in the bed, pale and barely breathing, but hardly looking as if he's older than seventy. "And how long does a person _usually_ keep a Miraculous?"

Tikki pauses, wringing her tiny kwami hands. "It depends. Five, ten, sometimes twenty years. Not usually longer than that."

"Do people usually give it up on their own?"

"Everyone is different. Some possess it until their lives change too much to keep it. Others—not many—have it taken from them. Some…" Tikki trails off, her face pinched with anguish. "...have given their lives in its service."

Marinette nods. She's always known that she could die, that Chat Noir could die as well. Her heart has always been a little heavy bearing that truth. Is that why Adrien's mother gave it up? Because she couldn't handle it?

When the Miraculous does pass from Marinette—which will it be?

She hears the door open behind her, but Tikki and Wayzz don't hide, so she knows before she turns that it's Adrien, carrying a backpack on one shoulder. He drops a gentle kiss of greeting on her forehead before he pulls over a chair to sit beside her.

"How did it go?" Marinette asks.

"It was… weird. Nathalie hugged me when I came home—actually hugged me—and before I could even make up a story, she told me that my father was gone."

"What? How did—?"

"I don't know. But she led me to Father's office and showed me a letter in his handwriting. It said that he would be out of the country for an unspecified amount of time, named various overseers for his business and directed that I be cared for until he returns home."

"His own handwriting? Are you sure?"

"Nathalie was. If it wasn't, and it fooled her, then it was a perfect forgery."

Or magic. She glances over at Fu, still unconscious. "It had to have been the Guardian council."

"They thought of everything, I guess." Adrien follows her gaze. "Is he still…?"

"Yes." The exhaustion and pain hits her hard suddenly. And no wonder, she's been here since last night.

Adrien puts a hand on her shoulder. "Let me take over for a while. Your parents must be worried sick."

His concern only reminds her that he's lost both of his parents now. "They're fine," she assures him. "Alya's covering for me." She told them that she slept over at Alya's after the fireworks. Alya agreed on one condition—that she get the exclusive story about Hawk Moth's defeat for the Ladyblog.

As if she'd trust it with anyone else. Alya must be biting her nails waiting for Marinette to return. She was gone from Hawk Moth's lair when they returned with Gabriel, and with everything with Fu, there hasn't been time to really talk...

Adrien must see her shoulders slump. He slides his hand all the way around to pull her into his arms. It's just like Adrien, comforting her when he's the one whose life has just been turned upside down. "You'll be fine, too," he whispers into her hair. "We'll all be fine. Everything will be. Eventually."

She hugs him back, a wave of emotions overwhelming her and choking her words back. Tears leaking out of her eyes, she just nods.

She sits there with him, letting the tears come, and after a while her whole world narrows to the way his fingers are moving slowly up and down on her arm. He's warm, solid, here—he's been here longer than she ever knew.

When she finds her voice again, she says, "I always thought the day after we defeated Hawk Moth that we'd be throwing the biggest party Paris has ever seen. Not..." She huffs another sigh.

"I never liked parties much, anyway," he says. "Too many I was forced to attend."

"Really?" she looks up at him. "Not even the one Nino threw for you? I mean, after the akuma was captured."

"Oh," he says, face lighting up, "that was different. My friends were there. _You_ were there."

She shoves him gently. "You hardly even knew me yet."

He pushes back with his shoulder. "Doesn't matter. You didn't know me either, and you were still there." He gives her one of his rare smiles, not the big and wide flirtatious one when in costume, but the small one that somehow shows even more of his heart.

She kisses him on the cheek. "Maybe we don't need a party. Maybe I'd rather just be here with you."

"Oh, now I like that. Smiles and kisses are much better than tears." The voice is small and gravelly, but it causes both of them to bolt upright.

"Master Fu!" Marinette cries, rising from her chair and going to his side. "I was so worried about you! We both were."

His smile is weak and small but still there. "I have a little more left in me, it seems."

She lays a hand on top of his. He nearly sacrificed his life to help end Hawk Moth's reign of terror. "Thank goodness. What you did… using you Miraculous despite the risks… Paris is forever in your debt." She squeezes his fingers gently.

He nods, closing his eyes in acknowledgement. "For the last time."

Her eyes widen and she shares a startled glance with Adrien, who asks, "You're giving it up? Your Miraculous?"

"I must. Not just the Miraculous" —he looks at each of them in turn— "but the Guardianship as well."

Marinette's heart pounds, and by the look on Adrien's face, he's feeling the same thing. "What?" She was hoping to continue learning from him, especially now that their archenemy has been defeated. "We're doing this on our own from now on?"

Fu shakes his head fondly. "Never alone. You have Tikki. And you have Plagg. You both have each other." He's right, and while she's thinking about that, Adrien comes beside her and wraps his arm around her waist. "And that will sustain you until a new Guardian is chosen."

"Who chooses?" Adrien asks, beating her to the punch. "You?"

"The Guardian council will decide. You will meet the new Guardian once the Council has determined the best fit for the city." His last words are quiet, and she notices the weakness in his voice.

"We should let you rest," she says, patting his hand. "You can tell us more later."

Adrien starts for the door, but then stops and turns back toward the bed, digging in his pocket. "I wanted to give you this…"

In his open palm, he holds out the Peacock Miraculous.

"Thank you," Fu says quietly, a small proud smile on his tired face. "But not yet. Please keep it safe for me until I have recovered?"

Adrien nods. "Of course." The brooch goes back in his pocket.

Marinette takes Adrien's arm and leads him out of the room. If she's learned anything about Fu and his tenacity—Adrien will be returning it sooner rather than later.

* * *

The house feels empty—well, emptier—without Father in it. At least before, Adrien knew that his father was working somewhere he could be found: his office, a show, a photo shoot. But now he's gone. Really gone. Gone to some remote somewhere that only Guardians know about.

He wants to be happy that now his summer is free to spend as he wishes. No Milan, no work, just patrolling (with his girlfriend! ahhhh) and spending time with friends (and his _girlfriend!_ AHHH).

But he can't be. He never thought that this victory would feel so hollow.

He sighs and flops down on his bed. Plagg settles in next to him, as quiet as the house for once. He burrows into Adrien's side, tiny body warming him. Maybe he isn't so alone after all.

His phone chimes from the bedside table. _Are you ok?_ it reads when he lifts it to see. Marinette. _Do you want me to come over?_ she adds. He smiles. No, he's not alone at all.

* * *

Marinette gives Alya another elbow in the side, but she just keeps giving the two of them that goofy smile. Seriously, she must be bruised up and down by now. "Alya…" she whispers, annoyed.

"What?" Alya says, tilting her head as she watches Adrien lick gelato from a cone. "It's so… cat-like."

Adrien stops, narrowing his eyes. Then he chuckles. "Can't really help it, can I?" he says with a shrug. Then he turns to Marinette. "Wasn't this supposed to be a date?"

"Like, a just-the-two-of-us date? I sure thought so." She directs that last toward Alya.

Alya grins, not mollified at all. "Well, since the two of you refuse to give the Ladyblog any more information about your relationship, I had to investigate."

Marinette's head falls into her hands. "I wish we hadn't said anything. Why did we think it was a good idea to tell the world that Chat Noir and Ladybug were an item? It could have just been Adrien and Marinette that were dating…"

"Just a couple of quotes—I can ride high on The Defeat of Hawk Moth interview for a while—but my readers are thirsty for more." She leans forward. "And I mean _thirsty_."

Marinette groans and Adrien turns the color of his strawberry gelato. She places a hand on his knee and gives it a light squeeze under the table. After a moment, he threads his fingers through hers. Tingles shoot up her arm. Being able to touch him and be touched in return is still so overwhelming and new. And so private. When Adrien catches her eye, she knows he feels the same.

Alya sees it, too, and backs off. "Okay, okay. I won't push. Can I say you got gelato?"

"Uh…"

"Even better," Adrien says, pushing back from the table and pulling Marinette up by her hand. "You can get a photo."

The next day, the Ladyblog runs the photo. Ladybug and Chat Noir, sitting on the edge of a roof, holding hands as they share a gelato. The likes and comments trickle in for months.

 **End.**

 **A/N:** **Thank you so much for your support of this fic! I love these kids, so I'm sure there'll be more from me, especially after S2 gets underway.**


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